Brief Introduction: A Continuation
In the previous article, I wrote a type of personal introduction to a type of experience that I observed in the book of Nehemiah. It was something that helped me with personal brokenness, and it is my desire that this would also be a help to you or your friend as you climb through the rubble and begin to allow God to put you back together again.
It’s a Personal Journey
This is the story of Weeping for the Broken. It’s a story that I’m going to tell in a modern way. In fact, I’m telling it in a very personal way. I want to share with you a journey of brokenness and the process of healing in a fresh way. It is my hope that you will be able to use this story for your personal healing or even for that of a friend.
The Broken Reach Out For Help
Nehemiah’s story begins with a visit from his brother and some friends who tell him how very broken down his beloved city is. They tell him that the city is broken down and that the people who are there are in trouble and are disgraced. The wall of the town is broken down and the gates have been burned by fire.
Brokenness
I’m going to put this into a personal narrative for you. Perhaps you have been going through troubles in your life and you feel disgraced. Maybe you’re not there now but maybe you have been there. After all the troubles you have experienced, perhaps, you come to this moment of realization that you are broken. You take a moment and assess your personal brokenness and realize that your boundaries are broken. Not just that, but you’ve been burned in the gates of your conscience where you give permission or refrain from it. You find yourself feeling as heavy as a two-ton weight. Perhaps, you begin to recognize that there are people who seem to suck the living energy from you. Perhaps, you are experiencing the brokenness of an unseen but very present war.
What Did Nehemiah Do? What Was His Response?
Let’s look at what Nehemiah’s natural human response was. In verse 4, it says that he sat down and wept. Weeping is very different from crying. Weeping is the expression of the agony of irrepressible grief and sorrow. Nehemiah was mourning as he prayed and fasted to the God of heaven.
Weeping for the Broken
Perhaps that is your experience of discovering yourself or your friend in a state of brokenness. It breaks your own heart, and you can’t help but weep and mourn for what was lost through the trials that you’ve just come through. You’re not your normal self and you realize that you don’t know how to get back to that. Perhaps you’ve lost your appetite for more than just food. Perhaps you’ve lost your appetite for everything that you ever loved. So now you sit down and weep for yourself or for your friend. And now, as you’ve been experiencing this for a short time, you begin to pray.
Note: What I’m going to do now is walk you through Nehemiah’s prayer. It’s not going to be for the same thing that he prayed for. This prayer is for you, my friend. This prayer is the beginning of your healing journey. This is how you begin to pray for your healing:
Reaching Out in Brokenness
O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His agreement of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commandments. Listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for my brokenness or my friend’s brokenness. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, I know that I have sinned against You. I know that my friend has sinned against You. We have sinned terribly by not obeying Your commandments.
Remembering God’s Promises
Please remember that You said, ‘If I am unfaithful to You, You will scatter me among the nations. But if I return to You and obey Your commandments and live by them, then even if I become an outcast from among all my friends and family and everyone that I know, You will bring me back to the place of healing and to the peace of mind that You have chosen for Your name to be honored.’
Seeking Restoration
As You restore me by Your great power and strong hand, I am Your servant. Oh Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring You. Please grant me success today by bringing the right people into my life who are willing to help me build myself back up again. Even as they see me in my brokenness, put it in their hearts to be kind to me.”
Who are You? What is God Calling You to do? Where is He Calling You to Go?
Now you get up and do what it is you need to do. Nehemiah was the king’s cupbearer. What are you in your relationship with God, your heavenly Father? He promises that if you will spend time nurturing a relationship with Him by praying and reading His word, that He will come and be close with you.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God states that He knows the plans that He has for you. He has good plans and not plans for disaster. He wants to give you a future and a hope. Verse 13 says that if you will look for the Lord wholeheartedly, He will be found by you. He will gather you from the [brokenness] that you are splintered into. He will bring you home again to who you are.
Tell Me About It
This is just the beginning of what it means to weep for brokenness whether it is your own or someone else’s. In the next article, I will take a deeper look at Inspecting the Brokenness. For now, have you or a friend experienced brokenness? And what did you do about it in your grief? Did you reach out to God? Do you need help reaching out to God? Tell me about it below or share it privately at [email protected]
