Brokenness to Grace

How many of us could use a fresh infusion of grace in our lives?

How many of us greatly desire to experience life abundant in Christ? To experience the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives like never before?

I daresay all of us would love that type of an encounter with God. An encounter that would leave us breathless. An encounter that would leave us speechless. An encounter that would totally change us from the inside out.

A prayer-induced, God-ordained, Holy Spirit-anointed, all-out, mind-blowing encounter with Jesus.

The pathway to this encounter is something called brokenness.

We have to realize that brokenness is not just an emotion. It is so much more than that. It has to be a way of life. Brokenness is coming face to face with our own will and absolutely, undeniably, surrendering it to God. It is the complete submission of our life to Him.

Our brokenness will stem from the purposeful choice we make to alter our lifestyle. To alter it in such a way that we completely follow after God’s heart. To realize that we are totally dependent on God IN all things and FOR all things.

Broken hearts are the most receptive hearts. Broken hearts are the most responsive hearts. Through our brokenness, God can begin to restore us to wholeness. Wholeness that is the product of His marvelous, matchless grace.

The greatness of our sin is surpassed only by the greatness of His grace.

So, how do we walk that road to brokenness?

1. We boldly lay down our pride.

2. We strip away all pretenses.

3. We remove that cloak of self-reliance.

4. We choose to walk with Christ and submit to Him daily.

Our brokenness will expose us for who we really are. Sometimes that look we take of our inner self isn’t a pretty one. It can be hurtful, humbling and eye-opening. But once we allow that part to be exposed, we can begin to get honest with ourselves and with God.

And then, He can begin a good work in us. He can begin replacing those undesirable things that we stripped away with desirable things that honor and glorify Him. Step-by-step He works, and step-by-step we grow.

We become determined and purposed. We become more intent on being more like Him.

Our broken state is the beginning of our glorious, transforming journey into a more passionate pursuit of our Savior. We walk from brokenness to repentance. To forgiveness and grace. To a satisfying life of unbridled joy and peace that only comes from our heavenly Father.

We move from the guilt of the past to the promise of the future. We will then encounter Christ in an explosion of new truths. New awareness. New life in Him. New graces.

We will encounter Him in ways that will just amaze us and blow us away. In ways that will leave us in awe of the everyday graces of life in Him.

Those everyday graces that will cause our hearts to stretch toward heaven and that awaken a furious longing in our hearts for a deeper, more intimate relationship with our God. One that was paved on a broken road but concludes on the humble path of new mercies.

Thank you precious Father, that we can humble ourselves before You and that You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us and restore us from brokenness to wholeness. Thank you that we don't get what we deserve, but that you lovingly give us grace and mercy. You are so worthy of our worship and our praise.  May we always love you with all that we are and all that we could ever hope to be.

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time"

(1 Peter 5:6)

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Thank you for your prayers for Jimbo and his team. They are safely home (minus their luggage!). Things could have been a lot worse, but we see where God's Hand was in the details and taking care of things in advance. The trip was huge success in that there were almost 500 salvations in the 2 weeks that the team was ministering in India. God gets all the praise and glory for His mighty work! He is working in India in a might way. Continue to pray for the people there and for the missionaries in that area. Thank you for your prayers!