Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
News Flash: $1 Million Challenge to Replicate the Shroud of Turin – Contest Details.
Thanks for joining our study about the concept of “brokenness.” If not familiar with this theological concept, you might have experienced challenging, prolonged circumstances known in popular culture as being “down and out.” Usually accompanied by hopelessness and depression, brokenness is triggered by combinations of situations and factors such as financial, professional, legal, divorce, personal demons, physical setbacks, addictions, a betrayal by someone you trusted, being wrongly accused, a medical situation, an unexpected death of a loved one, etc.
Whatever caused the brokenness, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and leaning on Him can ease your burden. Hope helps you cope. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Believers also know that He meets us at our weakest point. Then, after the storms have passed, one gains a perspective on the lessons learned and how faith and our relationship with Christ are strengthened to serve others and glorify Him.
However, for nonbelievers and those who have shunned God, brokenness can drive one to desperately ask Him for help and mercy. Reasons such as stubbornness, pride, cultural blockages, or misinformation can compel a broken person to open a long-locked door, crying out to the Lord, “If you are real, help me, and I will believe in you!” Brokenness can lead to submissiveness before the Lord, recognizing that “His will” is more powerful than “my will.”
The famous author and theologian C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
Hearing God through our brokenness allows us to see Him in new ways, experience His healing power through love, and know He is there to see us through the storm.
Once brokenness has passed, the experience can change how you view others in similar situations. You might become more empathetic and offer ways, along with faith and prayer, for a broken person you know to glue back their life.
The Bible has many inspiring verses relating to brokenness. Let’s review some now, starting with Psalms, which always beautifully summarizes faith and wisdom:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Do you believe that? If you are broken, such belief will help you heal because: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).
The following Proverb offers a mindset of belief in divine hope that one should internalize when experiencing brokenness:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Isaiah wrote the next two passages about perseverance during times of weakness:
“..but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40-31).
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).
Now, we turn to Matthew’s gospel. In Vol. 176, titled “Jesus: ‘My Yoke Is Easy, and My Burden Is Light,’” I wrote: “.. the yoke about which Jesus spoke joins Him to you through love, hope, comfort, and faith. Jesus taught us to find rest and peace in Him — no matter how good, bad, or challenging the circumstances.” The verses read:
“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’” (Matthew 11:28-30).
In John’s gospel, Jesus offered comforting wisdom for broken people in a broken world:
‘‘‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid’” (John 14:27).
Next is what I call a “go-to Bible verse.” St. Paul wrote a faith-truth about “His purpose” that envelops brokenness or adversity. The operative word is “in all things”:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Raise your hand if you have knowledge and experience about that verse.
The following verse has a personal meaning that I discussed in Vol. 71 - “St. Paul’s powerful self-help verse”:
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong’’ (2 Corinthians 12:9-11).
Below are two mood-boosting verses from Paul, who experienced much physical brokenness but maintained his strength through faith:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Paul also wrote this familiar “coffee mug” verse: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).
The apostle Peter wrote what could be called a “ladder” out of brokenness:
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Thanks for joining us today. If you are experiencing brokenness, I hope you found this study uplifting. Most importantly, through faith and trust in Him, you will mend and go forth with strength and, in time, internalize the following verse that bears repeating:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Amen!
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113 Order it here.
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. She is also the Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C., and promoting the $1 Million Challenge to replicate the Shroud. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
Join the conversation as a VIP Member