Shattered Pride and Shattered Hearts
We have all seen a window or some other type of glass shatter into hundreds of pieces. All of a sudden the beautiful, strong glass is laying on the floor in a jumbled mess. We can have a very similar experience ourselves. One moment, we can be whole and useful, but the next moment we are shattered by sin's consequences. When this happens, we are not sure that we will ever be useful to God and other people again. We are completely broken. How does this happen? David explains how it happened to him after his sin with Bathsheba. (Psalm 51:16,17) He was just going through the motions with the Lord. He would offer his animal sacrifices, but it was simply an outward show with no heart relationship with the Lord. It was a performance, instead of being sincere. Then, when his pride was shattered, he learned how to truly worship God. He found out that God always notices heart-shattered people who are ready for His love. (Psalms 51:16,17) Let's see how this applies to all of us, whether we are shattered right now, or not.
It is easy to slip into going through the motions in our Christian walk. There are things we do each day. They are important things, like praying, reading God's Word, and even serving others. Why are we doing those things? Is it out of duty or a need to try to please other people? If so, it will not be pleasing to God. If all we are doing is putting on an outward performance without our heart being fully engaged, God sees that, and He rejects our actions. However, when our pride is shattered, we are ready to get humble before the Lord. It is then that we learn to worship God from a contrite heart. We know just how much we need Him then, and we reach for Him from our heart. He sees our brokenness of heart, and our need for love, so He comes to us, and we draw near to Him for comfort and direction. That is sincere worship, because it comes from a lowly heart submitting fully to God. I pray we will stop going through the motions and performing, so we will not have to be shattered by our sins. Then, we can reach God's heart through our heart crying out to Him.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 52-54.
It is easy to slip into going through the motions in our Christian walk. There are things we do each day. They are important things, like praying, reading God's Word, and even serving others. Why are we doing those things? Is it out of duty or a need to try to please other people? If so, it will not be pleasing to God. If all we are doing is putting on an outward performance without our heart being fully engaged, God sees that, and He rejects our actions. However, when our pride is shattered, we are ready to get humble before the Lord. It is then that we learn to worship God from a contrite heart. We know just how much we need Him then, and we reach for Him from our heart. He sees our brokenness of heart, and our need for love, so He comes to us, and we draw near to Him for comfort and direction. That is sincere worship, because it comes from a lowly heart submitting fully to God. I pray we will stop going through the motions and performing, so we will not have to be shattered by our sins. Then, we can reach God's heart through our heart crying out to Him.
#NHBaptistdotorg
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 52-54.