Broken Hearts

Psalm 51

Broken Hearts

Let me ask you this…How many times have you been asked how you are doing and you have said, “Fine” when you really weren’t? We have all done it. And we do this for a lot of reasons, I understand that. But today we are talking about the times when we really aren’t fine.

How about in prayer? When we are talking to God, do we say something like, “Hi God, I am doing fine, don’t really need anything. Thanks, Bye.” Please don’t laugh – this is what we do!

Somewhere along the way we build and put on the mask. This mask of everything is ok and I can handle everything and no one is going to know me or hurt me.

Psalm 51 is the ultimate prayer of confession. It puts all out there; it is an unmasking. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment (3-4). Translation, “I am busted, I am wrong, and I know it and you know it God.”

Here is what we do instead. We say “What sins?” We say, “I put those under the rug, so we can’t talk about them; off-limits and not relevant anymore.” We say, “What are you talking about; I don’t do anything wrong.”

And that works for a while. When we say, “What sins?” we exploit other people’s understanding and mercy and blindness. As well, these rugs seem to have a lot more space than it seems.

But it doesn’t work with God. “You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart (6).” We can hide, avoid and fool others but at some point we meet God in a different place than anybody else – this “inward being.” And it says God desires truth there.

And, I would add that it is not just stuff we have done. It is when other people have hurt us too that completes our total brokenness ratio.

Please read the following lyrics closely. This song was offered during worship a years ago.

Broken Things

You can have my heart
Though it isn’t new
It’s been used and broken
And only comes in blue
It’s been down a long road
And it got dirty on the way
If I give it to you will you make it clean
And wash the shame away

You can have my heart
If you don’t mind broken things
You can have my life if you don’t mind these tears
Well I heard that you make old things new
So I give these pieces all to you
If you want it you can have my heart

So beyond repair
Nothing I could do
I tried to fix it myself
But it was only worse when I got through
Then you walked into my darkness
And you speak words so sweet
And you hold me like a child
Till my frozen tears fall at your feet

By Julie Miller

BMG Songs Inc/Verdugo Music/Word Music(ASCAP)

See, God works best with broken hearts. Because when our hearts and our lives are broken and we are able to say it, the sin and the pride have been shattered and it that is when His grace can pour and flood into our hearts. And it is then that we can truly know Him and His wondrous love. Until then, it is all surface – the mask; superficial and going through the motions. Until then the grace can only seep or drip through and we know that it isn’t enough.

After the confession part of Psalm 51, it proclaims, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit (12). Salvation in Jesus is joyous. The question has to be asked of many believers, “Where is the joy?”

We won’t know the “joy of God’s salvation” in Jesus, until we acknowledge our brokenness. We won’t know this joy if we keep convincing ourselves and telling everyone else that we are fine and everything is okay – when we aren’t.

One more thing – you’re not alone. We get to thinking that we are the only one who is broken. We are look around at others or down the pew in church and think, “They have it together.” But in fact, “they” are looking at you thinking the same thing. We all have our broken pieces – each one of us – me too.

And God wants to work with them and through them; and He brings people into our lives who want to listen and hold our hands through it all.

Maybe it’s time to let Him; and let others help too.

Amen.

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The Peace of God

Philippians 4:5-7

“…The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7

We are a bunch of “worriers” aren’t we? We worry about everything. And yet that wasn’t the design.

This passage today gives us some basics. First, the Lord is near. Great! Part of what happens when we worry is our perception is narrowed. It is a little bit like when you are asked to do a presentation or public speaking and you get up there and your heart is pounding and you can’t remember what you were going to say. The worry we experience on a daily basis is a lesser version of that. It may not feel like being in front of a crowd, but it does affect us. It is a mental and spiritual thing. On the spiritual side, it seems to cause us to be less aware of God’s presence. Sometimes we feel like God is far away…most, if not all the time it has to do with our spiritual perception and us. So yes, the Lord is near whether we believe it, or see it…or not.

And if the Lord is near…”Do not worry about anything…” Think about it this way, if you were fully convinced that the Lord was near, would we worry about anything? If the Creator, Savior and Sustainer of our lives was right next to us, not a lot to worry about (read Psalm 121 for more on this idea).

But we keep on worrying and the passage asks us to, “…in everything by prayer and supplication (fancy word for request or plea) with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. A couple of thoughts here. First, do you wonder why thanksgiving is in there when what you have asked for might not have materialized yet? Faith. The idea is that if we are asking for something in God’s will or ways, we can believe that it will happen (Matthew 7:7-11). And so the thinking here is that we should already be thanking God for His answer as we are praying about it.

Next, “be made known to God.” God knows everything so what does this mean? The meaning of the Greek word for “made known” carries the understanding of “recognize” or to reveal. But again, why do we need to reveal or share something that God already knows? This is the relationship part of prayer. Think about this…you may love your spouse or family members or friends and you think, “They know I love them.” They may know it, but they also need to hear it from you. Likewise, God knows our hearts, but the connection with Him is built and strengthened by saying and sharing our needs and hopes in prayer. See???

Here is what happens when we trust that the Lord is near and we are sharing and expressing our needs and hopes to Him. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Looking at these verses, part of what is happening, part of why the worry is supposed to evaporate is because we have handed over or given away, through prayer, those things that are stressing us out.

Often what we do though, is think or pray about the things that are stressing us out and then hold onto them. We may think we have handed them over…but we often grab them right back…so that we can worry and fret some more! You know it’s true!

This not to say that believing the Lord is near and letting our requests be made known to God means a pain or worry-free life. Not at all. But in all that happens, according to these verses we have access to a peace that is beyond what any pill or drink or drug can offer – no matter what is happening. It won’t change the circumstances, but it will alter how we deal, face and witness through.

A “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” What else can I add to that? Except to say that I have experienced it and it does…surpass all understanding. There is nothing like it. And I know many of you reading this have experienced it too. It is real.

This “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus,” is possible and something I think we are all in need of.

I know this guy who said to me one time, “All I want is peace.” That is great. We want that too. God wants us to have His peace too. It is waiting for us if we open ourselves to the Lord’s nearness and truly share and hand over our needs and hopes to Him.

Amen.

Discussion Questions

1. Name some things that are really stressing you out right now? After reading this, what can you do differently to deal with them?
2. Have you actually tried this before and not felt this peace? What happened? Did you really hand it over to God?
3. Are you tired of worrying? Have you become so used to it that it would feel strange not to worry?
4. Do you find it hard to believe the Lord is near? Why is that?
5. Have you felt this peace before? Can you describe it? If you haven’t, what do you think it might be like?

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