Being Broken

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” —1 Peter 3:13-14

Jacob the manipulator had met his match. Let me introduce Laban. Jacob got what he deserved. Little did Jacob know that God was doing two things at the same time, and He will do it for every believer.

1. He gives you something to live for.

2. He will be in the process of breaking you.

Jacob needed to be broken. We all need to be broken. What does that mean? It means God has to break us of having a hard heart and walking over everybody. Jacob did not realize it then, but for the next twenty years, after falling head over heels in love, he would see what it was like to be on the other end of manipulation, because Laban proved to be one of the most ruthless manipulators the Bible describes.

Do you know when we are broken? It is when we are treated unfairly and learn to keep quiet about it. God wants to bring us to the place where we can take pain and injustice without complaining, because that is what Jesus did. On the cross, He who knew no sin was made sin. Jesus did not deserve to be crucified and could only say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). He knew what it was like to take injustice, unfairness, and hate.

You see, it’s one thing when you suffer because you deserve it—it’s quite another thing when it’s unfair. Perhaps you are wondering why you have been treated unfairly. It’s so that you can accept what is unfair and keep quiet about it. This is the goal, and that is brokenness. If you are in a situation where what you are having to endure is very unfair indeed, then do I have news for you! That means that God has great plans for you, because the greater the injustice, and the quieter you are, the greater the blessing you are going to be to others.

Excerpted from All’s Well That Ends Well (Authentic Media, 2005).