Freedom Through Brokenness

Brokenness...... The word just makes you tense up doesn't it?

It has that reaction for us, I believe, because brokenness is directly associated with pain. When we just hear the word we immediately think of something painful. Our thoughts go to a time when something happened in our lives that caused us to feel hurt, ashamed or maybe even betrayed.

What we don't normally associate with it is the thought of freedom. We don't think on our pain as an agent to bring freedom in our lives. Instead we hide or avoid it because, well.... It's painful.... Right?

I would like to ask you for at least the next few minutes to change your paradigm, to have a shift in your thinking. I would ask you to begin to think on the word brokenness and associate it with freedom. Begin to think on the pain of brokenness not as something to run from, but something you walk through to get to the freedom it brings.

Galatians 5:1 - Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Christ came to set us free from the burden of bondage we all carry. We all carry the bondage of sin, whatever your sin of choice is; Christ has come to set you free from it. Many times we hold on to our sins. Maybe it’s just a small sin that no one really cares about. Could be one that everyone else thinks is not a sin, but it is for you. Maybe its pride in you that needs to be broken. Maybe it’s a hurt from the past that you have stuffed down inside and refuse to look at. Maybe you are caught up in something that you never could have imagined being part of your life. What ever it might be, if it hinders your closeness with Christ, it’s probably a sin for you, and you need to lay it down.

Often, it takes brokenness for us to see what needs to be changed in us. We don't see our flaws or what needs to change in us as glaringly as others do. Our Savior, however, knows all of them and loves us anyway. What He does require though is a continuation in the process of sanctification. That means when we see the hurt or sin that God wants to cleanse us from, we don't run from it. But instead, we run to Him and cling tight as He walks with us through it.

What we find as we do this is there is freedom on the other side and with it comes joy.

So you’re probably asking, how? How do I break that association of pain to brokenness and reconnect it to freedom? How do I break the bondage that holds me and find freedom?

I believe to break the strong bonds that sometimes hold us; we must go beyond the casual prayer. The answer I believe is three fold.... Submission, prayer and fasting.

First we submit ourselves to the Lord. By coming before Him in humility and presenting ourselves as completely yielded. I do this each morning by bowing first on my hands and knees to show my submission to His will not mine. I place my face to the floor as an act of humility before a holy God to show that I know He is God and I am yielding to His authority.

Next, we must pray with fervor. How do we do that? We cry out with our whole heart. We begin by praising Him for who He is and what He has done. We repent of our sin and ask for what we need. We stop trying to fix ourselves and ask to be fixed. Then we yield to His will. We listen for His answer and accept it when we get it.

Last, we fast. Fasting has become a discipline that many forsake these days. I tell you, if you really want to change things in your life, begin to fast.

Matthew 17:20-21 - So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "move from here to there", and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

Jesus tells us that some things can only be cured by prayer and fasting. In this part of scripture, the disciples had tried to heal the young boy and could not do it. Jesus tells them that this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

If we want to find complete freedom, we must approach the brokenness in our lives not by running from the pain but with submission, prayer and fasting. With all this done, we can take His promise in Psalm 126 to heart, at the end the reward is joy.

Psalm 126:5 says - Those who sow tears, Shall reap joy.