FAITH CONNECTION – FARMERSVILLE UMC
Ministry Updates for Monday, November 2nd, 2020
Scripture – Psalm 51:17
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Reflection – Authentic with God
Psalm 51 is a powerful psalm, in that the writer speaks about the wretched state of his soul. It seems likely that this psalm, which would have been sung in worship in the synagogue or temple, carried a power like we feel when we sing ‘Amazing Grace’.
The writer says God would not be fooled if we threw a big check in the offering plate, or sang a beautiful solo, or put on a big event for the church, all the while withholding our heart from him. God does not need that. He needs us to be authentic.
The most important sacrifice we can make to God when we are down, really down, is not to somehow ‘make it up to God’, or try to get back in good standing with him, but instead to tell him how much we hurt.
When we hurt because we have hurt ourselves or others or even those we love, God wants us to bring him our brokenness. For Christ is a healer. The Gospel writers leave no doubt in our minds that Jesus spent his time healing in the name of God.
His specialty? A broken spirit.
What has broken your spirit in this time, or has broken your spirit in the past? What has God done, or is God doing about that?
Prayer:
God whose grip on us is firm, whose vision can find us anywhere, whose ear bends toward the earth to hear us, we are living in a challenging time. We give you thanks for those times when you have restored our broken spirit. Help us grow in our ability to sacrifice our spirit to you when it is broken. Help us grow in our ability to be authentic with you and with our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. May we open our hearts to you, so you can heal them, strengthen them, fill them with love, and send us into the world with a heart for all of your people. Amen.