November 1, 2023 @ 9:00 AM

In the course of cleaning glass panels in our entryway chandelier, I accidentally dropped one. It landed on the tile floor with a resounding crash and glass scattered everywhere! It was a mess. It was broken beyond repair. So it is with us when we are broken. We are shattered. We could be broken over a relationship that went sour. We could be broken over a financial collapse that ruined us. We could be broken over emotional wounds from the past. Regardless of the reason, we are shattered, feel crushed, and often overwhelmed. Brokenness, in God’s eyes, is being so crushed by sin and this fallen world that we recognize there is no place to turn but to Him.

What does brokenness look like? King David gives us the ultimate description of what brokenness looks like in Psalm 51.  The context of Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance to God after being confronted by Nathan, the prophet for his sexual sin with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. Here are four marks of true brokenness:

1. Brokenness requires that we plead with God to forgive us—5:1, 2

David knows that his sin is first and foremost against God therefore he pleads with God to have compassion on him and wash away his sin.  He begs God to “blot out my transgressions” (51:2). David is asking God to erase what he had done. That’s not possible. Forgiveness, however, is. Remember, all sin is against God. Sin is a violation of His standards. Yes, we may sin against others but we first sin against a holy God.

2. Brokenness requires that we own our sin—51:3, 4

No excuses. No justifications, No rationalizations, No minimizing. No blaming. We honestly accept total responsibility for the sin we have committed. King David declares, “For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me” (51:3). He did not blame Bathsheba for seducing him. He did not blame his other wives for not meeting his sexual needs. He did not blame God for not preventing him from sinning. He accepted ownership for his sin.

3. Brokenness requires that we realize what our sin cost us—51:5-12

Sin separates us from God. No, we haven’t lost our salvation, our union with God. What we have lost, however, is our fellowship, our communion with God. Isaiah 59:2 explains it well when it says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” Sin robs us of our intimacy with God. Our prayer life is quenched. We feel guilty and lose our joy. David felt that when he wrote, “Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice” and “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation” (51:8, 12).

4. Brokenness requires actions of repentance—51:13-19

It isn’t enough to feel remorse with sadness and tears over sin. It isn’t enough to feel regret and being sorry for our sin. If we’re truly broken, we will take the actions of repentance. What are those actions? We will make changes in our life. David took action. He purposed, “Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways and sinners will be converted to Thee” (51:13). He knows that sacrifices in the temple won’t suffice. Brokenness requires more than religious ritual. Repentant actions must flow from a broken, contrite heart.

Brokenness must precede repentance. David was shattered and crushed by the weight of his sin. We often rush into repentance and forgiveness without being truly broken over what we’ve done when we sinned. We are not lost. For God is compassionate and will “bind up the brokenhearted.”

That’s amazing grace!

Irv