In Bible times the alabaster box was worth a large sum of money and kept safe and stored until a appointed day, but the sweet smelling perfume inside the box could not be appreciated until the container was broken. And so it is with the lives of God’s children, no one wants to be hurt, uncomforted or go thru trials, but God’s amazing grace and glory is not fully seen until God’s children have been broken.
David was going to be the next king, but God first chose to make him run for his life hiding in caves from the jealous king who wanted to kill him. Joseph had the dream that all would bow down before him, but God first allowed him to be sold as a slave, mistreated, lied about and stuck in a prison before he became the leader the world needed. Jacob was going to be the father of multitudes, but God first allowed him to roam thru the desert running from his brother and working for his father-in-law that didn’t give him his fare share. Moses was to be the savior of God’s chosen people and see mighty miracles take place, but the Lord first humbled him in the desert for his life 40 years before he could go before Pharaoh. Paul was the amazing apostle to the gentiles, but he was broken again and again. The stories go on and on, God breaks a man before God uses a man. Whether health, humiliation, loss of loved ones, financial or physical, God allows things to happen to break His children in order to mold them in the form He wants us.
Dear friend have you been broken? How do you react when God tries to break you? None of us want to be hurt, but maybe that’s what we need to better depend on God or put God in the correct priority level of our life. So maybe instead of avoiding or trying to rush thru these hard times that God places in our path, we should allow them to be form us into better servants. Maybe God is teaching you or me about patience, humility, dying to self, dying to pride, having full dependence on Him, etc. May we be broken people, dead to self and filled with Christ.
Here to Serve,
Jeff Bush
General Director of Vision Baptist Missions