Brokenness!

How God sees our brokenness.
Ps 51:15-17
Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

"To be broken is the beginning of revival. It is painful, it is humiliating, but it is the only way.”

To what kind of person does God draw near? What kind of person does He rescue and deliver? Those who have a broken and contrite heart.

You and I will never meet God until we meet Him in brokenness.

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

Hebrews 10:10 "...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Hebrews 10:19-24 "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Brokenness is essential when approaching God. Though we may approach him boldly (Hebrews 4:16), we should never go into his presence presumptuously as though we have earned the right to be there. We have nothing to offer God that he hasn't provided for us.

We come to him with our will and self-sufficiency crushed, having taken on a new form. Its total dependency is on Christ and the sacrifice he gave. He earned the right for us to come into the Father's presence by shedding his blood (Hebrews 10:19).

Isaiah wrote, For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy: I dwell in the high and holy place with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah. 57:15)

Brokenness is where God dwells. Only where God dwells is worship possible.

Here's my lifeline, not only as a worshipper but as I lead worship:
When you choose to worship through the pain, not only does this sacrifice of praise change something elemental in your own heart, it models something significant for your church – that worship does not depend on how we feel, but on Who we worship. What a testimony when a leader chooses to remain faithful through difficult times! This shines the light of Christ brightly.

God Almighty shine down on me and let me be a living, breathing, worshipping testimony to YOU! in the good times and in the bad.