“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34: 18)
Abby was reaching to get a cereal bowl out of the cupboard when—CRASH!—she accidentally knocked a glass of orange juice off the counter and onto the kitchen floor. What a mess! Her mother had to pick up the large pieces of glass, mop up the spilled juice, and vacuum for any tiny shards that could cut someone’s foot. No one would ever drink from that glass again. It would have to be replaced.
Sometimes broken things can be fixed, but often they are useless.
Is breaking something ever a good thing? Yes! An egg, for instance, has to be cracked before it can be eaten. We have to untie or cut the ribbon on a present to open it. A plank of lumber must be cut the right size before it can be used to build a table.
One broken thing that is very valuable to God is a broken heart. When we are truly sorry for our sin, God accepts our broken heart as a sacrifice. No other sacrifice that we can offer will please Him—not even gifts of money or special acts of kindness.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)
God accepts a heart that is broken and yielded to Him.
My Response:
» Do I see my sin as God sees it?
» my heart broken because I have grieved Him?