Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus agonized in brokenness and humility before the Father
The rock on which Jesus was supposed to have agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane.
A carving depicting the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)
The Holy Spirit has progressively revealed several things to me and I imagine there is more to come. The first thing that I heard Him say to me was that I needed to stop looking like the world with regard to witnessing for Christ. I needed to be willing to offer my body as a living witness for Christ Jesus. Being afraid to vocalize my love for Christ makes me look like the rest of the world and Christ is calling me to not conform any longer to the pattern of the world.
In recent days the concept that the Spirit has been speaking to me about is humility and brokenness, not only within my own heart and life but also within the body of Christ. Many years ago I began to pray that the Lord would break my heart over my own sin and He has done that. It is impossible for me to sin and ignore it. Immediately I am convicted and heartbroken over what I have done. I run in humility to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Now, I sense the Spirit urging me to pray for that same kind of humility and heartbrokenness over sin in the body of Christ.
It is not a newsflash to anyone that we are living in difficult and extremely troubling days. Jobs are being lost, homes are being foreclosed upon, families are falling apart, children are rebelling, and parents are abdicating their positions of authority. These truly are frightening times and many Christians are begging God to intervene.
I wonder, however, if we are placing ourselves in the appropriate posture that will bring the intervention of God. Second Chronicles 7: 14 says, “If my people who are called by name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Look at that again. There are stipulations that must be adhered to in order for God to intervene. It doesn’t say, “If my people who are called by my name will pray, then I will hear from heaven….” There is a required posture that we must take and unfortunately I do not see that posture being assumed by the vast majority of people who are called by His name. That posture is humility and with humility, I believe comes brokenness.
I sit in church week after week listening to our pastor preach some amazing, convicting sermons (go here to listen to some of them) that cause me to want to fall on my face right there in the pew, yet our people remain glued to their seats when the time comes to assume a posture of humility before the Lord and plead for our nation and our families.
- Are we too dignified to fall prostrate on the altar of God and beg for forgiveness?
- Are we afraid of what others will think?
- Could it be that we really just don’t care as long as we are only slightly uncomfortable?
There is no brokenness, for the most part, over the state of our own lives or the sin in our nation. I have to wonder if we are facing the crises that we are facing because the Lord is trying, yet again, to get our attention.
God help us!! Please break our hearts over our own sin and the sin of our nation. Once your judgment falls it will be too late. Help us to repent in brokenness and humble ourselves before you before it is too late.
