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Jeremiah 15:19 - Where is God in Our Brokenness?

Jeremiah 15:19 - Where is God in Our Brokenness?

Jeremiah 15:19 (NLT)  The LORD replied, "If you return to me, I 
will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak words 
that are worthy, you will be my spokesman. You are to influence them; 
do not let them influence you!  

Jeremiah 15:19 (CWR)  The Lord answered, "If you stop your 
complaining, I will restore your courage.  If you say things worth saying 
instead of feeling sorry for yourself, then you'll continue to be my 
messenger and speak for me.  The people need to change and turn to you.  
Don't feel so sorry for them that you change and end up being like 
them. 

  Someone once said, "A soul is converted in a moment of time, 
but to become a saint takes a lifetime." Conversion happens 
instantly; maturity takes many years. To bring us to maturity, God has to 
break us over and over again. 
  So often I see Christians struggling to get to what they 
perceive as the top. They gather and accumulate and arrange and amass--all 
the while forging their long list of accomplishments, perhaps with 
the hope that they will one day be able to hand their resume to God 
and say, "See what I've done for You?" 
  God's work through brokenness calls us not to accumulate, but 
to discard. He calls us to get rid of this, toss that, purge 
ourselves of this trait and that habit, repent of that desire and that 
goal, and finally strip ourselves of all self until we can truly say, 
"All that I am and all that I have is God's. He is in me and I am in 
Him, and that's all that matters." 
  What is God stripping away from your life? What comes to mind 
when you think of being broken? What have you put between you and 
total surrender to God? What do you trust more than you trust God? 
What do you love more than you love God? 
  God will break you, change you, and cause you to grow until 
you reach spiritual maturity. No matter how long it takes or how 
difficult the process may be, God will continue to break you and bring you 
to a place of wholeness and spiritual maturity so that he might use 
you as his tool in bringing still others to wholeness and spiritual 
maturity. 
  We can't reach spiritual maturity without suffering and pain, 
and we can't engage in ministry without being willing to endure even 
more suffering and pain. The joy set before us, however, is the joy 
of knowing that God is with us, working in us and through us, and 
that God is pleased with us. 
  Friend, there's no greater joy than that.
  Maybe you are facing a time of brokenness and it feels as 
though the emotional pain is more than you can bear. Or perhaps you are 
dealing with a series of disappointments. Instead of becoming fearful--a 
frequent ploy of Satan to pull you away from God--ask the Lord to reveal 
what He is up to in your life. 
  God did not remove the "thorn" from the apostle Paul's life, 
yet He did help him to understand why He allowed the trial to 
persist. The Holy Spirit revealed an element of pride in Paul's life; the 
"thorn" was given to humble him and cause him to rely only on Christ (2 
Cor. 12:1-11). 
  In visiting God's altar of brokenness, you will find a 
spiritual depth not present before the trial began. Peter writes: 
"Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to 
try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice 
to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when 
His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (1 
Pet. 4:12, 13). 
  Charles Spurgeon wrote: "God knows that soldiers are only to 
be made in battle; they are not to be grown in peaceful times .... 
Warriors are really educated by the smell of powder, in the midst of 
whizzing bullets and roaring cannonades .... Is He not developing in you 
the qualities of the soldier by throwing you into the heat of 
battle, and should you not use every application to come off 
conqueror?" 
  Brokenness is a sign of God's love and activity in your life. 
He breaks your self-reliance because He loves you. He knows that, 
left on your own, you would yield to pride and selfishness. Any 
discipline you experience in times of brokenness is God's way of preparing 
you for future service. 
  * Keep in mind that God uses brokenness to deepen your 
understanding in at 
    least three ways:
  * You gain a new perspective of His mercy and provision
  * You develop a more complete comprehension of yourself
  * Your compassion and understanding for others' suffering grows
  The Lord has one thing in mind for brokenness: spiritual 
victory. You will soon discover that only Jesus Christ can take your 
weakness and turn it into strength, hope, and honor. Will you trust Him 
to change your life? [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley re Jer. 
15:19] 

God is purifying and proving His people. He will refine them as 
gold, until the dross is consumed and His image is reflected in them. 
All have not that spirit of self-denial and that willingness to 
endure hardness and to suffer for the truth's sake, which God requires. 
Their wills are not subdued; they have not consecrated themselves 
wholly to God, seeking no greater pleasure than to do His will. 
Ministers and people lack spirituality and true godliness. Everything is 
to be shaken that can be shaken. God's people will be brought into 
most trying positions, and all must be settled, rooted, and grounded 
in the truth, or their steps will surely slide. If God comforts and 
nourishes the soul with His inspiring presence, they can endure, though 
the way may be dark and thorny. For the darkness will soon pass 
away, and the true light shines forever. {1T355} 

God is purifying unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works. He is sitting as a refiner and purifier of silver. When the 
dross and tin are removed, then His image will be perfectly reflected 
in us. Then the prayer of Christ for His disciples will be answered 
in us: "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." When 
the truth has a sanctifying influence upon our hearts and lives, we 
can render to God acceptable service and can glorify Him upon the 
earth, being partakers of the divine nature and having escaped the 
corruption that is in the world through lust.  {2T317} 

REFINER OF SILVER

http://www.tommyswindow.com/english/refiner_of_silver.pps