Part Three

Brokenness – A Prerequisite

I’ve often said that brokenness is a prerequisite for effective ministry.  Only through our own brokenness can we deliver the heart of God in ministry for others.  Why?  Because Jesus allowed Himself to be broken in every way, including His physical body and we are not above our Master.  But while we all honor Jesus for going to the Cross and allowing His body to be crucified so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16), we don’t often focus on His emotional brokenness which was so apparent in the Garden of Gethsemane and at other times in His life.

In the Garden, Jesus struggled with His friends.  He knew what was to come very shortly, that He would face the greatest trial of His life, and He wanted His friends to pray with Him.  That doesn’t sound like a tremendous request, does it?  Yet they could not even muster the commitment to pray – they chose to sleep instead.  Were they weak?  Oh yes they were.  But they failed even more in the hours ahead.  Some betrayed Jesus, one denied Him.  None stood with Him.  Jesus was alone, except for the Father, in Whom He trusted for His strength, emotional and physical.

Have you ever been through something and thought your friends had your back and that they would walk with you through it and support you, only to find that they would go with you a short distance – stand with you for a little while – pray with you for a short time – but in the end, you found yourself alone.  Not even Sister Super Saint would go the distance with you.  It was something you had to go through yourself in order to rely fully and wholly upon God alone, Who is the Only One who could sustain you.

Brokenness comes when everything and everyone around you fails you.  You prayed all your spiritual warfare prayers, and things just got worse.  Your called on your friends, but your friends couldn’t go the distance with you.  Religion fails you, even spiritual leaders sometimes fail you.  You come to the end of your reliance on anything that is earthly and you come to a surrender that you can survive with only one explanation – GRACE.  You now intimately know what it means when some other broken vessel says that God alone sustained them through something.

Jesus came to that place of brokenness and surrender – Job came as well.  David, Paul and John came too.  Mary Magdalene knew this place well – for she had found no greater love anywhere than at His feet.  When the pain and sorrow is so great that you can only whisper the Name – yet, you do – you do call out that Name Above All Names.  It is at that moment that God’s Amazing Grace sustains you and you have been given the honor of having your faith exercised by the trials you endure.

Up until now, you had thought you were a pretty good Christian.  But now you know that you can do nothing, absolutely nothing, in your own strength.  You can’t help others, though you thought you could, without being broken.  You can’t even walk the walk though you’ve talked the talk.  You have a new understanding that every step you take, every breath you inhale is dependent on Him.

Your reputation?  Ha!  Jesus made Himself of NO reputation.  We’ll discuss that next.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10