“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” (Ps. 51:17, NIV).
We sometimes live under the false impression that God is repelled by our imperfections and brokenness. This Scripture teaches us that the opposite is true. Holy Spirit gave us these words through David, penned in precisely the moment of the king’s worst failure. Through His imperfect, broken servant, God trumpeted this message to us: His heart does not despise it when we lay bare our worst failures before Him. He is not disgusted with us. On the contrary, He gets stirred up with deep compassion and a desire to restore us to a place of wholeness.
After all, that’s what He gave His life for. Our gentle Shepherd submitted Himself to torture to redeem us. If He was willing to pour out his life unto death, what wouldn’t He do for us? When we cry out to Him in the midst of our struggles, He does not turn His face away. Instead, He bends down to rescue us, to clean us up, and to set us free.
He also assures us of this: “I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you” (Lev. 26:11, NIV). No, dear one, He doesn’t despise your brokenness. He doesn’t abhor you. He states the extreme contrary: He’s drawn to you so much that He has made you His dwelling place. He’s never leaving! Not once, even to the end of the age.
Sometimes we humans have a long struggle with a given area of weakness. We battle a particular area that seems to get us down again and again. Our spirits are longing to live right in His sight, to conquer that thing once and for all. God must be so sick of this, we think to ourselves.
We are wrong. This is His tender heart toward us:
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Matt.12:20, NIV).
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses… He is able to deal gently with [us]” (Heb. 4:15, 5:2, NIV).
“Whoever comes to me I will never drive away”(John 6:37, NIV).
So He picks us up again. Instantly and continually, His blood makes us clean. He pulls us close and whispers to our hearts, “I’m not mad. Just be with Me and get to know Me better. As you do, My own character and nature are going to rub off on you more and more. Lean into Me, precious one. Receive an infusion of My power that makes you free!”
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How do you feel when you read about the great heroes of the Bible struggling with sins and weaknesses? What do you think was happening in God’s heart when He made sure to include them in the narratives of Scripture?
Feeding On Jesus 
Amen. This post reminds me of a time when I was going through a spiritual test of my faith. I was fasting and praying. In my prayer, I pleaded with God through tears to please save the innocent babies. I said, “I’m down on my knees begging you, please.” Suddenly, I heard him say, ‘You don’t have to beg me.” It was so clear that I stopped crying and pleading; He heard my prayer. I haven’t prayed that way since that day. I remembered His word tells us to Ask, Seek, and Knock, and the door shall be opened to us.
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That is SUCH a powerful story, my dear sister. I deeply understand what you are describing. That moment in prayer when there is a shift and you know that you have your answer. And how vitally important to know that we don’t have to beg HIm! Thank you so much for sharing this, Rev. Jeanie. Rich blessings to you today.
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God sees who we will be at the end of our struggle!
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Yes! I am so incredibly grateful that He does! Thank you Barb for this insightful comment. Much love to you today!
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A timely message, Jennifer. Thank you. ❤
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You are welcome, dear Anna! Sending you much love today. 🤗💕
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Yes, sis, as Psalm 51:17 says, the Lord loves a contrite heart; when the Holy Spirit makes us aware of something we need to confess and we do it (like David did), He cleanses us!
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Yes, thank You Jesus that You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!
I so appreciate your enriching comment, my dear brother 🙂
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Sis, in your comment a few minutes ago, you quoted part of 1 John 1:9; in the post I wrote this morning (about the first two things Jesus said on the cross), I quoted that verse, also. Amazing! 🙂
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Smiling big with lots of joy. That is AWESOME, I love it so very much, thank You Jesus!
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Love to make you smile, sis! This is what I referred to in my previous comment; check it out when you have time: https://keithpetersenblog.com/2023/04/05/forgive-them-and-remember-me/
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Ha, smiling once again!
Thanks so much for sharing the link with me, I am blessed 🙂
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I get tired of it, that is why He wants to give us rest and His peace. John 14:27
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Amen, Yes He sure does! Thank You, precious Lord Jesus for the rest You give to our souls! Thank you, my sister, I am grateful for your comment!
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Jennifer, with your permission, I would like to reblog this post next Sunday.
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I just now saw this, Anna, I hope I am not too late replying! But please feel free at any time to share/reblog any of my posts, I am honored to have you do so. Hugs and blessings!
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