You would not be pleased with
sacrifices or I would bring them. If I
brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will
not despise. Psalm 51:16-17 NLV
These are some of my favorite
verses in the Bible. Granted they are
not your typical favorite verses. For most people the idea of being broken is not
very appealing and I would have to agree.
But over the years God has shown me the freedom I have when I am broken
and repentant. Let me explain . . .
Since I can remember, I have
pushed myself to be “perfect”. Perfect
as a mom, perfect in my job, perfect as a wife, perfect as a follower of Jesus,
basically perfect in everything. It was a very tall order and I fell short of that
mark pretty much ALL the time.
Perfectionism was a disease of my
heart. The law of perfectionism is this, “You must never make a mistake, you must never let someone down
and you must always look like you have it all together (even if you don’t) or someone
will discover who you truly are.”
Perfectionism
kept me from being honest with myself and with others. It isolated me by pushing away the people I
loved and the God who had redeemed me.
“Going through the motions doesn’t
please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was
shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready
for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.” (Psalm 51:16-17 The Message)
God doesn’t want my perfectionism,
my self-righteousness or something I’ve sacrificed so I’ll look good to my
friends and family. He wants my heart to
be broken; to see the wrong and be truly sorry.
He desires a heart that doesn’t keep secrets but willingly lays claim to
the wrong.
For a long time I didn’t understand
this desire God had for me so I pushed for perfection and for most of the
people who weren’t too close to me I looked the part. But it was a façade; I looked good on the
outside but was crumbling on the inside.
It wasn’t until God made me take a good hard look at myself that I saw
my sin for what it really was – alienating me from God and those I loved. Then I was finally able to let go of that
all consuming desire to be perfect and what I found in its place was
FREEDOM.
Freedom to let go of what I
thought I should be and freedom to become the person God intended me to be. Freedom to reach out
to others without fear. Freedom to love
unconditionally.
Freedom to be the real me . . .
broken and redeemed!
Are you a perfectionist? Do you find yourself needing to be perfect in
everything, never allowing people or for that matter, God to see your
flaws? God wants to set you free from
the chains of perfection that bind you.
Remember He doesn’t want perfection, He just wants a heart that is
broken and repentant and He promises to do the rest.
Brokenness is what I long for
Brokenness is what I need
Brokenness is what You want for me,
Chorus:
Take my Heart and mold it
Take my mind, transform it
Take my will, comform it
To Yours oh, Lord -by Micah Stampley
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