The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17
She was perfect – absolutely beautiful. She was exactly what I had desperately wanted for Christmas that year – a doll that talked.
Her name was Chatty Cathy. Her vocabulary was limited and I had to pull a “magic ring” on her back to engage her in “conversation,” but I loved her. She was my constant companion and playmate for months, and then suddenly, she stopped talking. My six-year-old heart was broken.
Chatty Cathy looked perfect on the outside, but something on the inside had broken.
Over the years, I have met many broken people and I have experienced personal periods of brokenness. As I was again thinking on the topic of brokenness, my speechless talking doll came to mind.
Externally all looked good, but her internal workings were damaged. The thing that made her special – her ability to talk – no longer functioned. She was a sad shell of what she had been. Broken, a silenced Chatty Cathy was simply another doll.
My observations in working with people from varied walks of life have led me to the conclusion that brokenness typically falls into one of two broad, but distinct categories.
BROKEN AND UNWORTHY
This brokenness has convinced the wounded one that she (or he) is not enough, not worthy of more, and that the brokenness is beyond repair.
Broken and Unworthy says
- I’m NOT enough
- I’m Not worthy of more
- I’m Broken beyond repair
- I Don’t Deserve ___________ (Fill in the blank)
Friend, do you see that your focus is on yourself? It’s a convoluted form of pride that has taken hold of you. If you fall into this category of brokenness and believe that your situation is hopeless, that your wounds are too deep to heal, that you have gone beyond the pale and there is no way that God could love you and restore you – you’ve made your situation bigger than God. You think your problem is too big for the Creator of the Universe.
Please listen closely, dear friend.
There is absolutely nothing in your past that can make God stop loving you. Before the foundation of the earth, God chose you and He knew you. That past that grieves you so, God saw from Eternity, He knew what would become your past and still He chose YOU while you were Broken and Unworthy. Your brokenness is not beyond God’s capacity for healing.
Your degree of worthiness does not determine God’s love for you. If you are a believer, God waits to forgive and restore. If you need a Savior, God extends His forgiveness and salvation through Jesus to all who come to Him in faith and repentance.
BROKEN AND UNAWARE.
The second type of brokenness is more easily seen by others than the first. Once recognized in oneself, it is difficult to admit, and hard to confess. This brokenness often requires a dramatic, humbling event to evoke real repentance so that true healing can begin. I am too familiar with this type of brokenness.
Broken and Unaware Says
- I have everything under control
- I am the smartest person in the room…whatever room that may be
- I can do this on my own
- Success should be mine because I deserve it
- This is my success
If there is credit to be given, the Broken and Unaware will take it; they trust themselves above all else; and feel that everyone would like to be them or is jealous of them. They are often seen as self-absorbed and arrogant; they desire admirers more than real friends; and they frequently look down on others. Truth be told, they secretly believe that God is fortunate to have such a winner on His team.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told the parable of “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” to a group of individuals who trusted in their righteousness and who treated those “beneath them” with great contempt. (Luke 18:9-14)
Prominently positioned and sure to be noticed, the Pharisee stood tall in the Temple with his head lifted high, praying loudly for all to hear. He thanked God that he was not like the sinners around him, including the Tax Collector who was also praying in the Temple.
The Pharisee’s prayer was not a real prayer, it was a general announcement to everyone in the Temple of his self-proclaimed righteousness and importance to God. He was not looking for forgiveness or justification; he was explaining to God why he didn’t need it.
The Pharisee was Broken and Unaware.
At one time or another, we are all “Broken” falling either into the camp of the Unworthy or the Unaware.
Once God’s Holy Spirit reveals our Brokenness to us, we don’t have to continue in a state of Unworthiness or Unawareness. Jesus reveals a third option in the conclusion to The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector:
Standing in the shadows, in the most inconspicuous location in the Temple, the Tax Collector bowed his head reverently, cast his eyes down, and beat his breast in sorrow and anguish as he acknowledged his sinful state before the Holy God. He humbled himself and pled for God’s mercy and forgiveness.
About the Tax Collector, Jesus said “This man, went down to his house justified,” the Pharisee did not. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (18:14)
By this we shall know that we are of the Truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything.”
1 John 3:19-20
To the “Broken and Unworthy” and the “Broken and Unaware” GOD SAYS:
I know you.
I chose you.
I love you.
I have given all for you.
But mostly know this – it’s not about you.
It’s about Me.
You listen to Me.
Humble yourselves before the LORD, and He will lift you up.
James 4:10 NIV
FROM BROKEN TO . . .
UNAFRAID
UNBOUND
UNBURDENED
UNCHAINED
UNFETTERED
UNSHACKLED
UNSHAKEN
UNSOILED
UNSTRESSED
UNSWERVING
UNTANGLED
UNWAVERING
NO. LONGER. BROKEN.
HEALED. RESTORED.
While grieving over my broken Chatty Cathy, my momma told me that she had found a doll hospital where a doctor specialized in healing Chatty Cathy dolls. My daddy was willing to make the inconvenient drive to downtown Dallas to take her to the hospital.
I was thrilled at the possibility of healing but worried because I had to give up my doll and let my daddy hand her over to a doll doctor that I didn’t know. I had to trust that Chatty Cathy would be returned to me…hopefully healed and once again speaking. The possibility of healing was worth the risk, so I hugged her and handed my broken Chatty Cathy to Daddy.
Days later, Chatty Cathy came home, once again a charming conversationalist. My joy was overwhelming. She was healed!
If you are going through a season of brokenness, or it seems as if brokenness is all you’ve ever known, you need to take whatever it is in you that is broken and hand it to Jesus.
Jesus, our Redeemer, Savior, the Lover of your soul, He is the Great Healer:
- There is no wound, brokenness, injury to your body, soul, mind, or heart that God cannot heal.
- There is no thought, action, or sin that God cannot forgive.
- There is no emptiness, longing, or heart’s desire that God cannot fill.
- No flaw, weakness, infirmity, or imperfection can keep God from using you.
- And once you are His, there is nothing, absolutely NOTHING in heaven or hell or on this earth, that can snatch you away from your Father’s hand. You are forever and always in His firm and almighty grasp.
No longer broken. Healed.
“Surely, He (Jesus) took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds, we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 NIV