The Valley of Spiritual Brokenness - Eventually becoming our Earthly Heaven and Delight

The Valley of Spiritual Brokenness  --  Toby Toburen, Christ Community Church, Sumter, SC

http://exaltingtruth.com/2012/01/19/the-valley-of-spiritual-brokenness/

Walk this Christian life long enough and God the Father, thru the ministry of the Holy Spirit, will graciously guide you thru the Valley of Brokenness. This valley is no easy journey. The fact is it’s one of great paradox. On the one hand, the Valley of Brokenness is painful, humbling, and pride-crushing. On the other hand, this same valley is one of delight.  Let me explain. The pain springs forth from many things, none more excruciating than being confronted by the wicked and rebellious sin that still inhabits our redeemed but fallen hearts. It was the Apostle Paul himself who declared to Christians in Rome: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:18-19)

Admitting and confessing this reality is never easy for the very reason that we are terribly prideful people. Uprooting pride is one of God’s great aims for our sanctification. God’s crucible of brokenness invariably exposes such pride, which is the root of all sin and the cause of all falls – both kingdom and personal. Of course, the crucible of brokenness also brings pain in the form suffering, both our own and sometimes that of precious others, as we endure God’s gracious discipline.

The delight springs forth from knowing that God disciplines those He loves and uses the painful crucible of brokenness for purposes other than punitive judgment. After all, was it not our most glorious and beautiful Lord Jesus who became our sin and thus endured God’s punitive wrath on the Cross of Calvary? (2 Cor 5:21). Is God’s wrath toward our sin punitive? Absolutely! Yet, the Good News of the Gospel is that God’s wrath has been satisfied thru the penal substitutionary death of His only begotten Son Jesus. Therefore, rather than being punitive, God’s discipline is purposed for “yielding peaceful fruit of righteousness” in the Christian (Heb 12:5-11).

Unfortunately, most Christians have not embraced this Gospel paradox. And, when disciples fail to understand this Gospel paradox – that God’s discipline is not punitive, but sanctifying – they inevitably reject God’s discipline, resist His crucible of brokenness, and increase the wreckage in their lives and the lives of those they claim to love the most. Pain, discomfort, embarrassment, and shame blind us to the biblical truth that God’s crucible of brokenness and discipline are one of the truest signs of His grace, mercy, and love for us as adopted children. When we choose to believe that God’s discipline, rather than being punitive, is gracious and merciful, we will embrace His crucible of brokenness and know its satisfying delight — for we are being transformed into Christlikeness. Don’t forget Christian, the process of being forged requires heat and sharp tools – both of which are painful, but necessary. As a pastor, I implore Christians to approach the painful season of brokenness believing that what God is doing is not punitive – it is sanctifying. It is Christ-exalting!

Your sin has been judged, punished, and forgiven once and for all when Christ “who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross and despised the shame” (Heb 12:1-2). As Christ hung bruised, beaten, and naked on the cross, He bore your sin with joy all the while enduring the horror of God’s wrath, knowing that only His righteous blood could ever cleanse you of unrighteousness and declare you innocent before the holy God. Christian, instead of resisting God’s crucible of brokenness, embrace it as a sanctifying measure that will ultimately result in you becoming more Christlike.

God the Father is for you – not against you. You are His beloved child, a royal priest in His heavenly kingdom. You were bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Your sins have been forgiven and your unrighteousness has been cleansed. God-sent brokenness and discipline are to be embraced by the believer, for they are glorious evidences of God’s fatherly love and genuine salvation.

Are you walking thru the Valley of Brokenness? Are you experiencing the disciplining hand of God the Father? Instead of running and resisting – rejoice! God is proving to you that you are His legitimate son or daughter. This is a Gospel paradigm that should make the heart of every Christian leap with joy and worship with thanksgiving in their heart. Writes Paul, “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6).