“A sign of maturity is when we care more about the things that break the heart of God than the things that break our heart.” Jill Briscoe
- Joseph’s heart was broken by the cruelty of his own brothers, the lies of Potiphar's wife, and the ungratefulness of the cup bearer. (See Joseph Let God be God.)
- Daniel’s heart was broken by loss of his homeland and freedom (Daniel 1:1-6).
- Paul’s heart was broken by repeated beatings and slander (2 Corinthians 11:24-30). (See Even Paul Despaired.)
But they were more concerned with God’s broken heart than their own.(1)
I admit I don’t have this kind of maturity. I suffer more over the things that break my heart than the things that break God’s.
But brokenness is meant to make us mature and God-focused, not disabled and self-focused (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).
I'm praying that I will genuinely care more for God's broken heart than my own. Can I pray this for you too?
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(1) Scriptures that speak of God's broken heart:
Genesis 6:5-6
All of Psalm 78, especially verse 40
Ephesians 4:30
To read about an American Christian who chose God's heart over his own, read: How to Overcome Evil.
Bible Love Notes
Gail, you once again spoke to my "broken" heart today. Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful wisdom! Hope that the last bit of your week is going good!
ReplyDeleteI pray that God will fill your heart with His truth, just as I am praying He will for me. Bless you, Gail
DeleteHi Gail, this is my goal too.
ReplyDeleteGod bless
Tracy
I'm not there yet either, but I learning to become upset over the things that break God's heart. It's not always easy. Thank you for this reminder.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gail, for allowing God to speaking through you. In answer to your last question, yes, please pray this for me, too. Grateful for your friendship and partnership in the Gospel!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! This is what I need to tell myself and others in love but also truth.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good post again, Gail! Yes, you can pray this for me too as I am like you, more broken over my own problems than what breaks God's heart. Actually, I like the whole subject of 'brokennesss' and have thought about it quite a bit...when we are broken over the lost, it gets our eyes off ourSELF!!
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to reading your devotionals. This is so true - I long to have that kind of maturity as well. I have a long, long way to go before I get there. I am so thankful that God is patient with me while I sometimes get a broken heart over stuff that doesn't matter so much, while failing to have a broken heart over what truly matters!
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get that these men were more concerned for Gods broken heart than their own? NOT being critical at all! Just trying to better understand that statement. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Ericka,
DeleteAll of these men I mentioned acted in ways that are contrary to our human nature. They chose to do hard things for the sake of God.
Joseph forgave his brothers and did His best no what circumstances he found himself in because he was aware of God's sovereignty and He knew that God could use bad things for His good (Genesis 50:20).
Daniel was willing to be thrown into the lion's den instead of bowing to other gods.
Paul was willing to live a life of hardship, insult and mistreatment for the sake of the Gospel.
All of these men chose to live for God's purposes, not their own.
They did it because they were concerned with His purposes more than their own comforts.
God's heart breaks because of sin and unbelief, and these men made it their purpose to do the right thing and worship only God and share His truths accurately.
I hope that helps answer your question.
Gail
I am having trouble saving this to Pinterest. can you tell me why. I love these notes and feel I was sent to read them as they portray my life at the moment. I love the lord with all my heart.
DeleteHi Pamela,
DeleteI'm so glad that you find this and other devotions helpful. And I'm sorry you're having trouble pinning them.
You should be able to save them using the little red "P" tool at the bottom of the devotion.
But if that fails, you can use the link address (the https: link) to add it to your Pinterest page.
Or you can check out the Bible Love Notes Pinterest page. New devotions are always put on the "Newest Devotions."
You can get to the Bible Love Notes Pinterest page by clicking the little red P on the right sidebar under "Join me on these social networks." Or copy and paste this link address into your browser: https://www.pinterest.com/biblelovenotes/boards/
I hope this helps.
Thank you Ma'am Gail for these devotions, they do help me a lot in what I have experienced in my life, thus it strengthens my Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to lean on him for our troubles and hurts...
ReplyDeletewhy does God allow kids and babies to suffer, be beaten, have horrid illness. I I have NO answer for that NO one does Except ' Its Gods will' Thats a lame excuse. Bible is symbolic and NOT written by God eons ago. Bible is open to interpretation. belief in Bible & God is there to help us not be afraid to die.. so promises eternal life in Heaven . I wish there was a God. WE need that but life can be harsh ..
ReplyDeleteHi Unknown,
DeleteIt's interesting that no one ever asks why God gives us such wonderful beauty in creation, such pleasure in sights, sounds, feelings, and relationships. But God is blamed for everything bad in the universe.
No, you are wrong. While the Bible contains symbolism and figurative speech like all good literature, it is not all symbolic. You can believe what you want about the Bible not being written by God, but unless you have lived from the beginning of time and known every event that happened in the universe, having infinite wisdom and knowledge, then you are only giving your human opinion based on your very, very limited sphere of life. Actually, anyone who thinks they can decide that God doesn't exist is neither logical nor honest with themselves.
We all choose our sides in this life, and Scripture clearly says that will happen. I am choosing to believe that there is wisdom and truth beyond myself, wisdom and truth that is given to us in the Person of Jesus Christ and the clear teachings of Scripture. And I believe that is far more logical than depending on my limited human understanding.
And while there may be a few peripheral things that are open to interpretation, most of Scripture is clear and most Bible-believing Christians are in agreement about the basic doctrines and truths.
Life definitely can be harsh, confusing, and sad.
But God is not the cause of anything bad. We are.
According to the clear teaching of Scripture, when Adam and Eve sinned, they brought evil and suffering into God's perfect creation. God did not create sin, suffering, death, decay, or evil. Mankind did. And God immediately put a plan in place to save those who genuinely want to know Him.
We can reject that plan and spend eternity in the evil we have created or we can accept His plan, believe in His Son Jesus Christ, and be set free from that evil - not here on earth- but in eternity. The choice is ours, and just like all of the other evil in this world, we are responsible for that choice.
God is not to blame.
I hope you discover this truth for yourself, because it is the only thing that will save you.