Normally when we think of broken things we view them as damaged goods and of little value. But in the economy of God, our Lord uses broken things to produce wonderful results. I love how the late Vance Havner spoke of how God uses broken things: “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.”1
It is only when a person is totally broken that God can really use them to advance the kingdom of God. As Vance Havner stated above it was only when Peter was totally broken that He could restore him into a right relationship with Himself and supply him with even greater power than before.
I am excited by this concept of brokenness, because when we are broken in Christ, we receive a three-fold blessing. First, God can now use us to do great things for Him, and when we do great things for Jesus we glorify the Father! Second, having a broken and contrite heart allows us to take the focus off of ourselves and be an open channel to help others. Elisabeth Elliot shares great insight here: “We want to avoid suffering, death, sin, ashes. But we live in a world crushed and broken and torn, a world God Himself visited to redeem. We receive his poured-out life, and being allowed the high privilege of suffering with Him, may then pour ourselves out for others.”2 It is simply amazing when we are truly broken how God can use us to bless others. And third, knowing that we are glorifying Jesus and helping others is guaranteed to bring us great joy that frankly, we often can’t get in any other way.
My friends glorifying God, helping others, and personally experiencing wonderful joy – that’s the three-fold blessing of brokenness. To the world this brokenness is often seen as a sign of weakness, but for believers we know that true brokenness before the Lord is a sign of great character and strength.
Take time to meditate on the three-fold blessing of brokenness. May the following quotes on brokenness provide you with comfort when you are going through a difficult time of pain, suffering, and brokenness.3
“God is looking for broken men who have judged themselves in the light of the cross of Christ. When He wants anything done, He takes up men who have come to the end of themselves, whose confidence is not in themselves, but in God.” – Harry Ironside
“We want to avoid suffering, death, sin, ashes. But we live in a world crushed and broken and torn, a world God Himself visited to redeem. Brokenness is the stripping of self-reliance and independence from God. 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.” – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
“Like the rock that was smitten, we too need to be broken, before the rivers of blessing can flow out through us to others. The opposition of men and their false accusations serve to keep us broken before God.” – Zac Poonen
“Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’ – contrary to what we would expect, brokenness is the pathway to blessing! There are no alternative routes; there are no short-cuts. The very thing we dread and are tempted to resist is actually the means to God’s greatest blessings in our lives.” – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
“The Word, circumstances, and other believers – these can all be tools to show us our need and create opportunities to choose the pathway of brokenness. The Spirit of God is the arm that wields each of these instruments to bring us to a point of brokenness. However, we must respond to His initiative.” – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
“Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days – when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when your out of options, when the pain is great – and you turn to God alone.”― Rick Warren
“A Christian is not a person who believes in his head the teachings of the Bible. Satan believes in his head the teachings of the Bible! A Christian is a person who has died with Christ, whose stiff neck has been broken, whose brazen forehead has been shattered, whose stony heart has been crushed, whose pride has been slain, and whose life is now mastered by Jesus Christ.”― John Piper
“The flesh must be broken. The Lord can use us then, not while it is unbroken. While Paul was writhing under Satan’s thorn, he could get some estimate, though not a full one, of what the flesh is as God sees it. When it was broken, and Paul did not know what to do, the Lord came to pour sympathy into the writhing heart of Paul.” – G. V. Wigram
“Brokenness is God’s requirement for maximum usefulness.” – Charles Stanley
“Brokenness is often the road to breakthrough. Be encouraged.” – Tony Evans
“Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory.” – J.R. Miller
1 24 Vance Havner Quotes | ChristianQuotes.info
2 Inspirational Quotes on Brokenness (bibleportal.com)
3 All of the following quotes are from the websites below:
20 Quotes About Brokenness | ChristianQuotes.info
Inspirational Quotes on Brokenness (bibleportal.com)
Brokenness Christian Quotes, Page 2 (ochristian.com)
TOP 25 BROKENNESS QUOTES (of 106) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)