“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’”
Is. 57:15“The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord…” Is. 29:19
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Mtt. 5:3
Brokenness and blessedness go hand in hand. They are in fact, inseparable bedfellows. Blessedness is the deep, supernatural contentment which never comes from a change of circumstances on the outside. It always arises from a change of heart on the inside. When we are willing to lay down the fuming, smoldering torch of our own arrogance, when we are willing to humbly take our place as created and desperately dependent beings, when we recognize that the only things we really deserve we don’t even want to think about, when we embrace the reality that we are all one sigh away from eternity and there’s not a thing we can do about it; then and only then can the soul-satisfying presence of God begin to settle in.
Until then we are too strong, too self-assured, too demanding for the Spirit of God to infuse His supernatural contentment into the depths of our being. The Holy Spirit is likened unto a dove in scripture and nothing causes Him to take flight more quickly than the noxious smell of arrogance. In all its subtle forms. As this passage notes, God only revives the "humble" and "contrite" ones. It is only through brokenness that Augustine’s prayer for contentment can begin to be answered, “O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.” Or as Andrew Murray writes, “Water always fills first the lowest places. The lower, the emptier a man lies before God, the speedier and the fuller will be the inflow of the divine glory.”
Laying down one’s arms may be a sign of defeat and failure in the world of men. But in the Kingdom of God, it is the only pathway to contentment, vitality, and significance. Maturity never means outgrowing our neediness or desperate dependency upon God. In fact, true maturity is always the ever-deepening, heart-felt recognition of our relentless need for God at every turn. And in every way. It is the great exchange of my pride for His presence. And that, my friends, is an exchange exceedingly worth making!
Flashpoint: Never underestimate the blessedness of brokenness! It's the only open window for the dove of God's Spirit to meaningfully enter in.
