Being Broken

A good and caring shepherd will count his sheep whenever it hits the twilight. If one found missing, the shepherd will go out and find the sheep before the night falls. The shepherd will never be careless if the shepherd notice the same sheep gone missing night after night, for that little lamb is developing a very bad habit. After this happens several times, the shepherd will go looking for the sheep as usual, but this time he does something very unusual.

The shepherd pick up the tiny wandering sheep, firmly holding it with one arm while at the same time positioning his solid staff against one os the sheep's legs. Then with a swift and strong motion, he will snap the little lamb's leg with the staff.

Why would a caring shepherd would want to break the leg of a harmless sheep? How could the shepherd commit such cruelty? Haddon Robinson provide the answer: "Back in the fold the shepherd makes a splint for the shattered leg and, during the days that follow, he carries that crippled sheep close to his heart. As long leg begins to mend, the shepherd sets the sheep down by his side. To the crippled animal, the smallest stream looms like a giant river, the tiniest knoll rises like a mountain. The sheep depends completely on the shepherd to carry it across the terrain. After the leg has healed, the sheep has learned a lesson: It must stay close to the shepherd's side.

"To break the leg of a porr, defenseless sheep seems almost vicious-unless you understand the shepherd's heart. Then you realize that what seems to be cruelty is really kindness. The shepherd knows that the sheep must remain close to him if it is to be protected from danger. So he breaks the leg not to hurt it but to restore it"

Sometimes God breaks our hearts. It may be a loss of a child, a business, a marriage, a ministry, our dear family member, or our health. Through our losses, he can use us for a greater purpose in life and bring him greater glory.

A Broken Spirit

A broken spirit and a contrite heart

You will not despise

You desire the truth in the inward part

A broken spirit and a contrite heart

Lord, my heart is prone to wander

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it

Seal it for your courts above