It seems as though everywhere I turn these days, I'm hearing about brokenness.
Yesterday's Streams in the Desert devotional: "It is not until a beautiful kernel of corn is buried and broken in the earth by DEATH that its inner heart sprouts, producing hundreds of other seeds or kernels. And so it has always been, down through the history of plants, people, and all of spiritual life -- God uses BROKEN THINGS."
Pastor Bubba also spoke of it in his sermon on Nehemiah today (check it out here if you missed it). It reminded me of times in my recent past that I have been broken. It started with the emotional brokenness of coming to the end of my own strength and perfectionism at work. Then there was the time of physical brokenness when I was dealing with pain associated with a bulging disc in my back for months. Neither experience was one that I would have wished for, but both were blessings in my life. So much so that I can now say that I am incredibly thankful for those times of brokenness.
My prayer for you is that you will also be able to embrace your brokenness and welcome these times for the blessings that they can be. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for us to miss out on the blessing because of unhealthy responses to brokenness. As Pastor Bubba pointed out today, the proper response to brokenness is fasting and prayer. I didn't know this at the time, but this is essentially what I did as I participated in the Freedom Ministry. Fasting involves giving up those things that we previously used to cope with life and instead during near to the Lord, our only hope and strength. The Christ-Centered 12 Steps of Recovery are a useful tool in guiding us through this process.
Step 1 is the step of recognition. We admit that we are powerless over whatever addiction or issue we are facing and that our lives have become unmanageable. That sounds a lot like brokenness to me.
Step 2 is the step of restoration. We come to believe that God, through Jesus Christ, can restore us to sanity. Where our situation formerly seemed hopeless and impossible, we now realize that there is hope and it is possible for God (Luke 18:27).
Step 3 is the step of redirection or surrender. We make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to God through Jesus Christ. I can't do it. God can. I think I'll let Him.
Step 4 is the step of reflection. We make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. As Nehemiah 4:10 states, "In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” As Pastor Bubba pointed out, God needs to remove the rubble of the past before doing a new work in us. Step 4 helps facilitate that process.
This is just a brief introduction to the 12 Steps, but I hope that you will see how useful they can be for recovering from a variety of hurts, habits, and hang ups. God used them to help me break free from a lot of emotional baggage and redeemed my times of brokenness so that I didn't have to continue living a defeated life. He can do the same for you.
If you want to learn more about the 12 steps and how the Freedom Ministry can help you find healing through a proper response to brokenness, please join us on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Oasis Mission House. For more information, please contact Vicki at [email protected].
Yesterday's Streams in the Desert devotional: "It is not until a beautiful kernel of corn is buried and broken in the earth by DEATH that its inner heart sprouts, producing hundreds of other seeds or kernels. And so it has always been, down through the history of plants, people, and all of spiritual life -- God uses BROKEN THINGS."
Pastor Bubba also spoke of it in his sermon on Nehemiah today (check it out here if you missed it). It reminded me of times in my recent past that I have been broken. It started with the emotional brokenness of coming to the end of my own strength and perfectionism at work. Then there was the time of physical brokenness when I was dealing with pain associated with a bulging disc in my back for months. Neither experience was one that I would have wished for, but both were blessings in my life. So much so that I can now say that I am incredibly thankful for those times of brokenness.
My prayer for you is that you will also be able to embrace your brokenness and welcome these times for the blessings that they can be. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for us to miss out on the blessing because of unhealthy responses to brokenness. As Pastor Bubba pointed out today, the proper response to brokenness is fasting and prayer. I didn't know this at the time, but this is essentially what I did as I participated in the Freedom Ministry. Fasting involves giving up those things that we previously used to cope with life and instead during near to the Lord, our only hope and strength. The Christ-Centered 12 Steps of Recovery are a useful tool in guiding us through this process.
Step 1 is the step of recognition. We admit that we are powerless over whatever addiction or issue we are facing and that our lives have become unmanageable. That sounds a lot like brokenness to me.
Step 2 is the step of restoration. We come to believe that God, through Jesus Christ, can restore us to sanity. Where our situation formerly seemed hopeless and impossible, we now realize that there is hope and it is possible for God (Luke 18:27).
Step 3 is the step of redirection or surrender. We make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to God through Jesus Christ. I can't do it. God can. I think I'll let Him.
Step 4 is the step of reflection. We make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. As Nehemiah 4:10 states, "In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” As Pastor Bubba pointed out, God needs to remove the rubble of the past before doing a new work in us. Step 4 helps facilitate that process.
This is just a brief introduction to the 12 Steps, but I hope that you will see how useful they can be for recovering from a variety of hurts, habits, and hang ups. God used them to help me break free from a lot of emotional baggage and redeemed my times of brokenness so that I didn't have to continue living a defeated life. He can do the same for you.
If you want to learn more about the 12 steps and how the Freedom Ministry can help you find healing through a proper response to brokenness, please join us on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm in the Oasis Mission House. For more information, please contact Vicki at [email protected].