Morning Brew: Thursday, Oct 8

Have you been broken by your sin? Being broken isn’t always a bad thing. A broken car is a nuisance. A broken marriage leads to heartache. A broken economy will affect millions of families.  But being broken isn’t always a bad thing.

In Isaiah 57, God gives us a powerful image of who He is and how He wants to relate to us:

15 For this is what the high and exalted One says—

    he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

“I live in a high and holy place,

    but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

    and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15

The word ‘contrite’ literally means ‘one who is crushed.’ The picture here is of a person who is fully aware of the weight of their sin and who has been crushed by that weight. That person, broken the weight of their sin, that’s whom God chooses to dwell with. Have you been broken by your sin? If so, God is ready to dwell in you and revive you.

What are obstacles that keep us from being broken?

• Pride – We don’t want to admit that we need help.
• Denial – We don’t want to acknowledge the sin around us.
• Self-reliance – We know we’re in trouble but we want to get out on our own.
• Stubbornness – We don’t want to admit that God’s way is right (and that ours is wrong).

Has your pride, your self-righteousness, your ego, your self-reliance been broken by your sin? If so, God is ready to come in and give you life. How important is this? Look at the words of Jesus, the words that began Jesus’ most famous sermon, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION: What keeps us from being truly broken by our sin?