The real danger in being full of yourself is that the Holy Spirit is unable to fill you. If you don’t realize you are full of yourself, the Lord has His methods of revealing it to you—which generally involve some kind of breaking! Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair (Prov. 29:1). Paradoxically, God is not looking for unblemished, un-cracked bottles to fill up, but broken ones.
The Old Testament is replete with stories of broken people: Jacob, broken before He could receive God’s blessing; Joseph ,nearly destroyed by 14 years of wrongful imprisonment; and Moses, broken of reliance on his education and upbringing. And who could forget David, broken by years of conflict and rejection. Then in the New Testament, there was Paul, the persecuted persecutor, and Peter, whose self-confidence had to be shattered before he was filled and empowered at Pentecost.
Men who refused to be broken end up shipwrecking their faith, and worse, the faith of others. The Church doesn’t need greater preachers and teachers, more Christian radio programs, a newer translation of the Bible, or bigger churches. But more broken men and women so God can "fill [them] with good things" (Ps. 81:10). Are we willing to be broken bottles?
Greg,
ReplyDeleteI find it all too easy to become enamoured with the apparent success of godly people who have good press coverage. But then I have to remind myself that for many of them God had to take them through an extended time of breaking before they were elevated to their position of influence.
I realize the humbling part of God's processes does not always result in an obvious exhaltation. But He sovereignly chooses to break us at the times He sees fit--when we need it most; and He also exhalts us in His Own sovereign ways and timing.
There is so much work for Him to do on us; we cannot begin to understand the scale of it! Yet the Holy Spirit is well able and in fact delights in this aspect of His ministry to His people! We are in a blessed position.
Stan
Thanks Stan. Yes, I always know that a man who speaks with spiritual authority is a man who has been broken.
ReplyDeleteAnd how much more would God do if we all were completely surrendered! The greatest problem we have is self-deceit--thinking we are better than we are!