Hi and welcome back to Week 2 of Brokenness: A Heart God Revives by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I hope you enjoyed your first week of study, and I pray God is teaching you much through your time in His Word and in prayer.
Our Tuesday morning ladies wanted to say a quick hello 
to all of you online ladies, so here’s a picture of them from this morning. We’re praying for you!
Again, I want to encourage you to post comments at the bottom of the page throughout the week. This week’s discussion questions are below.
- Why does Scripture put such an emphasis on the heart, rather than mere external appearances? Note verses that support your thoughts.
- What is meant by “roof off, walls down”? Which do you think is more difficult and why? Why are both important?
PLEASE POST! Thank you to those who did last week. 🙂
Download your handouts for this week below and then continue reading. The first page has some “fill in the blanks” and space for note taking. No video this week … keep reading and you’ll find the answers to the “blanks” and some further insight into the two ideas of being contrite and having the “roof off and walls down.”
What is brokenness?
Brokenness is:
- A choice/an act of the will
- On-going (It is a continuous, on-going lifestyle of agreeing with God about the true condition of my heart.)
- The shattering of my self-will (absolute surrender)
- The stripping of self-reliance (total dependence on God)
- The softening of the soil of my heart (no resistance)
Isaiah 57:15 says,
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
The word contrite in this verse is the Hebrew word daka’ which means to be crushed, bruised, broken, crushed into small particles or grounded like powder. That sound terrible doesn’t it?
But … “God does not want to break our spirit, He wants to breakout self-will.”
A few chapters before 57, Isaiah prophesied about our Lord Jesus. Read Isaiah 53:5 below.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
The word “crushed” in that verse is from the same Hebrew word for “contrite” in Isaiah 57:15.
Jesus was contrite – crushed at the cross – so that resurrection life could be released through Him to others. – Nancy Leigh DeMoss
You see, to be contrite is to be like Jesus. Ladies, we are well on our way to becoming like Him. It’s a process, but God will not stop until we reflect His Son. Are you pliable in God’s hands today? Are you surrendered? Are you asking God to show you where you need to change? Is the roof off and are the walls down?
Psalm 32:5 is a beautiful picture of what it means to “take the roof off.” Read it below.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
We must go before God and dialogue with Him. We must have an honest conversation with Him about our sins. Then it says, He will cover them. What comfort I find in that!
Next, the walls must come down. We have to be genuine, transparent and authentic with those we know. We must be willing, when prompted by God, to share openly with others about the sins in our lives. And when others begin sharing openly with us, we need to receive that with love, compassion, and mercy just as we would expect them to receive what we tell them. It’s hard! It’s painful! But it’s worth it!
God can use others in our lives to refine us and make us more humble, surrendered, God-reliant people!
Your homework this week is included in the handouts you just printed out. We will look at some Biblical Portraits – some broken and some unbroken this week. Pray, pray, pray sisters for sensitivity, pliability, and vulnerability with the Lord.
Have a wonderful week!
Jacqueline Heider is the Director of Women’s Ministry, Prayer & Resource Specialist at Warren Baptist Church
Contact our Women’s Ministry office here.