This is "Brokenness"

John Collinson wrote a short piece about suffering and "the narrow road" that I think sums everything up perfectly:

Sometimes it is asked what we mean by brokenness. Brokenness is not easy to define but can be clearly seen in the reactions of Jesus, especially as He approached the cross and in His crucifixion. I think it can be applied personally in this way:

When to do the will of God means that even my Christian brethren will not understand, and I remember that "neither did His brethren believe in Him" and I bow my head to obey and accept the misunderstanding, this is brokenness.

When I am misrepresented or deliberately misinterpreted, and I remember that Jesus was falsely accused but He "held His peace," and I bow my head to accept the accusation without trying to justify myself, this is brokenness.

When another is preferred before me and I am deliberately passed over, and I remember that they cried, "Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas," and I bow my head and accept rejection, this is brokenness.

When my plans are brushed aside and I see the work of years brought to ruin by the ambitions of others, and I remember that Jesus allowed them to "lead Him away to crucify Him" and He accepted that place of failure, and I bow my head and accept the injustice without bitterness, this is brokenness.

When in order to be right with my God it is necessary to take the humbling path of confession and restitution, and I remember that Jesus "made Himself of no reputation" and "humbled Himself...unto death, even the death of the cross," and I bow my head and am ready to accept the shame of exposure, this is brokenness.

When others take unfair advantage of my being a Christian and treat my belongings as public property, and I remember "they stripped him," and "parted His garments, casting lots," and I bow my head and accept "joyfully the spoiling of my goods" for His sake, this is brokenness.

When one acts towards me in an unforgivable way, and I remember that when He was crucified Jesus prayed "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," and I bow my head and accept any behavior towards me as permitted by my loving Father, this is brokenness.

When people expect the impossible of me and more than time or human strength can give, and I remember that Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you..." and I repent of my self-indulgence and lack of self-giving for others, this is brokenness."

Someone once said there will be no revival, either personally or otherwise, until there is first a Gethsemene and a Calvary in each of our own lives.

Life Includes Suffering

I purposely ignored studying the sufferings of Job for years because it scared me. I can even remember one dear lady at a Bible study in the early '70s who came up to me and shared that I was to look forward to "suffering with Christ." Well, I thought she was a crazy heretic, so I stayed clear of her.

Now, of course, I understand what she was trying to say; I just wasn't able to hear it at that time. Eventually, in God's timing, the story of Job became incredibly real to me as I began to experience deep suffering in my own life. I learned I had a choice: to either let the suffering accomplish the goal and purpose that God wanted in my life; or, let the suffering crush and destroy me.

God put the book of Job right in the center of the Bible for a very good reason: it's an example of faith in the night seasons. God intends for all of us to use it as a "road map" on our journey through the dark night, always keeping in mind that at the end of the road, Job finally "saw" God as he never had seen Him before, and it changed his life forever .

So, yes, life itself includes suffering.

Suffering has as its goal the sanctification, the purification, of our souls and spirits. Suffering comes about as God unrelentingly identifies the most potentially damaging hindrance to our relationship with Him, and then lovingly begins to strip that thing away from us. He crushes us, He breaks us, He shakes us and removes anything that is in the way of His accomplishing His will in and through our lives.

Some important points to remember when we are going through suffering are:

o God allows our troubles to drive us to our knees and to bring us back to Himself. (Exodus 2:23-25)

o God allows trials in our lives so we may turn around and minister to others in similar circumstances. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

o Sometimes our troubles must get worse before freedom comes. Satan, obviously, does not want that; therefore, he does everything he possibly can to stop it.

o It's important to realize that we can't get ourselves out of trouble. If God has allowed the trial, then He is the only One who can get us out of it. Therefore, it's not our battle, but His . (Exodus 6:6-8)

o Our troubles should always push us towards God, not away from Him. If they push us away from Him, we should check to be sure who is the instigator of the trial. (Psalm 77:2; 2 Chronicles 33:12)

o Once we understand that God is involved in our trials, it should give us great hope. (Ephesians 1:17-20)

o God wants to use our trials as a way for us to learn His statutes and His laws. (Psalm 119:71)

God always has a reason for the things He allows into our lives. He is preparing us for a future which He alone knows. He is preparing us as His "bride," not only perfect (holy), established, strengthened and grounded in Him, but also joint heirs with Him .

http://www.hissheep.org/deliverance/..._the_soul.html

Someone once said there will be no revival, either personally or otherwise, until there is first a Gethsemene and a Calvary in each of our own lives.

Another great thread Coconut!

Here's an article that confims it.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit.We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. *Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
*Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. *So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.
*But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, and so I speak.” We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. *All of these things are for your benefit. And as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
*That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are* being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! *So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. Written by Paul@ the second half of his third missionary journey. 2Corinthians 4:8-18

Amen Coconut and jiggyfly. I so love that passage of scripture jiggyfly.