Broken transformation
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18
In Hebrew, contrite means crush, literally being crushed into powder. Psalm 51, also known as David's repentance prayer, states that the sacrifices of God are a broken and a contrite heart. Why does God take pleasure in human contrition? Because the biblical concept of contrition is a feeling of regret or sorrow that leads to repentance and reconciliation with God.
I lived a double life for the first three years after I returned to church in 2010. My faith had only been transactional, I had not been transformed in my heart, I had only been religious and tried to look good by doing many religious activities. In the meantime, I was living in a self-centered life, harboring bitterness and being involved in ungodly relationships. At the breaking point, I became burned out from work, ministries and relationships, then a sister said these truthful words to me “God doesn’t need your ministries, He wants your heart, a repentant heart.”
As I found many churches avoid the topic of repentance because it is offensive and unpopular, God has led me to my current church that preaches about it. As I recall my first service, tears flooded my eyes and my hardened heart was literally broken to pieces. I realized that my heart had undergone real transformation. We called it “heart surgery”. For the first time, I felt genuine repentance as I wanted to surrender to His ways and not my own.
Repentance is a lifelong process and nobody would be perfect until we go home. We may still experience crushing moments in life, but God does not despise oury broken and contrite hearts, and He is near to us as contrition leads to repentance, which enables God to heal, forgive and transform us.
Contrite hearts are tender and yielding, where the Lord crushes our hard and stoney hearts representing pride and self-will into a surrendering heart that is a precious sacrifice for Him.
Blessing prayer: We are thankful for your promise to be near when our hearts are broken and contrite. We pray that you will transform our hearts so that we will yield and surrender to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen
