The Humble Power of Brokenness

In 2 Corinthians 12: 9-11 Paul said,

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 11 I have become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody." (NASB)

Paul wrote that he was under some type of physical attack (thorn in my flesh) from a messenger of Satan. God had allowed this to keep the apostle from exalting himself in all the revelations from the Lord that had been granted unto him. He had not been given a mere few revelations, but an abundance of them. It is an easy thing to get a little self-haughty when you feel as though you are doing things well ... even when those things are related to your service for the Lord. Too frequently we see such haughtiness in certain ministers and ministries in our current world. 

There is no need to wonder what the "thorn" was or who exactly the "messenger" was. The greater point is that God wanted Paul to remember that it is the humble person who is the one He can and will use for His purposes. Paul comes to realize this as he says, 

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

The position Paul had come to was what we term, brokenness. The broken person has no confidence in his own righteousness or his own works, but he is cast in total dependence upon the grace of God working in and through him. What an awesome place for you and me to be in. 

Even the Lord Jesus lived in broken humility and submission for His heavenly Father.  When He came to Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion He revealed His brokenness through His humble prayer and encouragement for His disciples. In Luke 22: 39-45 we read.

39 And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

In this scene we are reminded that the truly broken Christian will ...

1. Pray in every situation - 40 When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray.

This was clearly a stressful and fearful time for the Lord. He knew what He was about to face before His accusers and on that cross. His response? To seek out a place to pray in humble recognition that His Heavenly Father was Lord over his earthly circumstances. There was no haughtiness and self-reliance in Him. 

It is the attitude we should take in our prayer as well. In every situation and circumstance we should seek a place for prayer in order to recognize and be reminded that our Heavenly Father has our earthly situations in His hands.  He can handle it all. 

2. Pray in Humility and Surrender - 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

Jesus did not hide His fear from His Father. He acknowledged it. He, in His humanity asked the Lord to remove from Him what He was about to endure but in the same breath He stated that His Father's will is what is best, not His own will. 

In times of confusion, turmoil, and even fear; each of us should pray, "thy will be done ..." rather than "my will be done." God will show why He has a purpose and a plan that is possibly beyond your ability to understand right now. This is why we should, "consider it pure joy when you face trials ..." James 1:2.

3. Pray in the Knowledge that God will Comfort You - 43 Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

These verses show how anxious and fearful Jesus was at this moment. His humanity is visible. This is so understandable. He knew what Roman crucifixion was. He knew what He was about to go through physically and it was weighing heavily upon Him. He also knew that He was about to leave His work and ministry and that His disciples were about to endure a lot as well. So, an angel was sent to strengthen Him and minister to Him. 

We rarely face times so intense as the Lord faced but we each know that life has its fearful and trying moments. You can think of those you have faced in the past or you may reflect upon one you are currently facing. But in each case, if we are open to receive His help, the Lord will send help through various means to encourage us, minister to us, and give us comfort as we move through the situation.

4. Pray Knowing that God will Give You Strength - 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

The Lord came back from His prayer unafraid. He was ready and strong. He had done the most powerful thing He could have done. He had gone to His Father in weakness but emerged in strength. As Paul noted:

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 

He was now encouraging and instructing His disciples to wake up and be prepared that they themselves would not fall to temptations. 

God promises to be with us through every circumstances. He promises to hold you up with His righteous right hand. 

As we understand and live in this humble power of brokenness, fully understanding that "apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) we live a life of strength that comes through our daily walk with our Heavenly Father. 

Trust in this.

I hope this post has been a blessing to you. 

Tony Guthrie, PhD.

tguthrie1961@gmail.com

========================

Please share this if it has been meaningful to you.