Broken???

During this break, I've been working on reading a three-in-one book called "Brokenness, Surrender, Holiness" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Here is a series of quotes from the section on Brokenness. Throughout the book, I have been challenged in my own walk with the Lord and my brokenness and humility before Him as I seek to serve Him.

"Brokenness is the starting place for a lifelong cycle. We cannot experience true freedom, love, and worship if we do not enter by way of humility, repentance, and forgiveness."

"One of the recurring themes of Scripture is that God uses things and people that are broken. That is His way. The turning point of Jacob's life took place in a wrestling match in the middle of the night at the river Jabbok (Genesis 32). Years earlier God had promised to bless Jacob, but he had never been able to enjoy that blessing because he had been trying to control and manage life on his own terms."

"And in conceding defeat, [upon answering the Lord that his name was Jacob--the schemer, the deceiver, the manipulator, the con artist], Jacob won his ultimate victory. At that point, he was a new man. With Jacob''s natural strength broken down, God was able to clothes him with spiritual power. Once he admitted the truth about who he was, God gave him a new name -- Israel, meaning 'prince with God"-- representative of a new character. Now he was usable in God's hands."

"The most dramatic, widespread revival movements in history have begun with a handful of humble-hearted believers whose revived lives and prayers have become sparks that ignited the lives of those around them."

"The greatest hindrance to revival is not others' unwillingness to humble themselves--it is our need to humble ourselves and confess our desperate need for His mercy."

Finally, a quote by Andrew Murray:

"Just as water ever weeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in."