Through The Brokenness

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

“If He hears that cracking tinkle when you break your alabaster box of personal treasures. If He notices the rustling sound as you bow to dismantle your own glory; you are going to stop Him in the middle of whatever He is doing because God cannot pass by a broken and contrite heart, He is going to move Heaven and earth just to visit with you.”

  But if the alabaster box is not broken, the oil will not flow forth. 

  Strange to say, many are still treasuring the alabaster box, thinking that the box is more valuable than that of the ointment. Many think that their outward man is more precious than the inward man. Thus the problem in the Church today. One will treasure his cleverness, thinking he is quite important; another will treasure his own emotions, thinking himself an important person; others highly regard themselves, feeling they are better than others (holier than thou), more spiritual, more mature, their eloquence of speech surpasses that of others, their quickness of action and exactness of judgment are superior, and so forth. However, we are not meant to be antique collectors; we are not collectors of beautiful bottles; we are those who desire to smell only the fragrance of the ointment. Without the breaking of the outward, the inward will not come forth. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay..” (2 Corinthians 4:7) So if the Treasure is in the clay jar, who can see Him unless the jar becomes broken?

  When I shop for a perfume, I’m not drawn by the prettiness of the bottle but the scent that comes from the bottle.

  Ask yourself….Which is more important the altar or the sacrifice placed on the altar, the cross or the Lamb sacrificed on the cross? We cannot be a sweet aroma to the Father unless we are broken and poured out before the Lord. And we can't get there without walking through the pieces of the brokenness and leaving a path splattered with blood. Just as Jesus shed His blood when He was broken, so must we if we are to follow in His footsteps and be the sweet aroma we long to be in the nostrils of the Father.

  And anyone who serves God will discover sooner or later that the greatest hindrance in their spiritual walk is not others but themselves. (We are our own worst enemy.) They will discover that their outward man and their inward man are not in harmony, for both are pulling in opposite directions. “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.“ (Galatians 5:17) We must know that he who can work for God is the one whose inward man can be released. But God warns, “And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; . . . I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors” (Leviticus 26:27,31).”Prepare it with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.” (Leviticus 6:21) Let us commit again to live lives that will be a sweet savor in the presence of our God.

  There are many things that we are told are sweet-smelling to God in the spiritual realm….The smoke of Noah’s sacrifice is called sweet. “And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake” (Genesis 8:21). The Levitical burnt offering is said to be “a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (Exodus 29:18). Also I find Jesus’ sacrifice was a sweet smelling perfume to the nose of the Father: “Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor” (Ephesians 5:2). The saint’s prayer brings an odor like incense before the throne of God. “And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints” (Revelation 5:8).

  The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the Lord came to me: …(Jeremiah 18:1-23)

  For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)

  The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; (Isaiah 61:1)

  Maybe your heart has been broken so many times, your life shattered into so many pieces you wonder if you’ll ever be able to put it all back together. You can’t but God can. You may think that you’ve given your heart away so many times only to have it returned to you broken and in pieces, you’re surprised you even have a heart left. But let me tell you something sweet thang, every time you give away a piece of your heart, God replaces it with a piece of His own until you only have His heart. He can take the pieces of your broken heart and create in you a brand new one. He can take your shattered life and like a jig saw puzzle put the pieces back in place and create a beautiful picture of a life that was once nothing but pieces. And He not only can but wants to if you’ll just give Him the broken pieces and out of your brokenness will come something beautiful and precious to be used as ornaments for the Master’s table. My prayer is that you be made whole in Jesus’ name! Amen

In His love,

Elizabeth