Proverbs 15:13 “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”

Today in the Word of God, we are reminded again of the sacrifice that God wants from us: “a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17 “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18

We are reminded in the first part of the verse, that a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance. How true indeed, when we are cheerful, we sing psalms and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. When we are happy and joyous in our hearts, our step is light and our smiles are bright! Praise God! “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:11

However, in the last part of the verse, we are solemnly reminded of how by sorrow, our spirit is broken. Sorrow gets us down and our hands hang, our feet drag, and tears flow from our eyes. This is a time when our bones are died, and we feel broken indeed. Yet this isn’t always a bad thing. A truly broken and contrite heart and spirit is a heart and spirit that is repentant. This is actually what God wants from us. When we are born, we have pride instilled in us just as all other sins (In honesty, I believe pride can be linked in some way to every single sin that is known). This pride makes us stand tall and say to ourselves that we can make it on our own. It makes us THINK that to make it on our own, shows we are strong, and that if we don’t make it then we are weak and basically worthless. That is a phenomenon with our faith in the Lord Jesus. In the Lord Jesus, we are not commanded to stand strong and tall, and make it on our own. Instead we are told the exact opposite: we CAN’T make it on our own, and we must SUBMIT to the Lord our God. We are actually told that the greatest among us, is the one who will humbly serve the other in meekness and in truth. With our Faith, we are made strong in our weakness. It’s because in our weakness, the Lord can shine through the most. When we give up, our Lord can finally take over for us and can give us HIS Strength—which is limitless!

That is why the sacrifices of God are a broken heart and spirit, a CONTRITE (Repentant) heart and spirit. It is because it causes us to submit to God instead of trying to make it on our own . . . and falling on our face! It is because it leads to our repentance, which is what our Lord wants. This is how David was after the Lord rebuked Him for his adultery and murder of Uriah. It is how the Corinthians church was, when Paul rebuked them. Yet it was a thing not to be despised, but rather is for our growth and strengthening, that we repent from our sins. There are two main types of sorrow: godly sorrow, and worldly sorrow. Worldly sorrow comes from things that may cause the flesh to be sad due to not getting something it wants, or losing something it holds dear. Godly sorrow, comes from things that cause the spirit, in line with the Spirit of God dwelling within us, to be sad because of something that was done that shouldn’t have been done. It is the chastening of the Lord. As mentioned in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” Godly sorrow, causes us to repent of the wrong we have done, and that repentance is something we do not repent from . . . that repentance is something we do not regret or seek to turn back again to our sin. As said in the next verse in 2 Corinthians (2 Corinthians 7:11) “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” When we have godly sorrow, it is almost as though we become so angry with the sin we have committed, that we basically DEMAND ourselves to NEVER do such a thing again. It isn’t as though we simply say to ourselves, “Okay, I won’t do it again,” but rather we say to ourselves, “I WILL NOT do this again, you hear me? If you (speaking to yourself) do this again, you’ll REGRET it!” This causes us to be very careful that we don’t do this thing again. It isn’t just a careless thought to avoid something, but rather it is watching your step, so that you are sure to avoid even the temptation to do such a thing. Then if temptation comes, it is fiercely rebuked before it gets a chance to get its foot in the door.

Such godly sorrow, is having a broken and CONTRITE heart and spirit, and happens when our Lord rebukes us (Yes, sometimes He does use a person to rebuke us, so don’t neglect all rebuke that doesn’t come from a voice from heaven). Take joy in it, because it shows that He loves us (Revelation 3:19)!

Though it isn’t always fun . . . well, it hardly ever is “fun” when the Lord rebukes and chastens us. That is why it is, afterall, noted as having a broken and contrite heart and spirit. However, such chastening of the Lord is temporary. That which He has broken, that which He has smitten and cast down, He will heal, and lift up again! Psalm 51:8 “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” Hebrews 12:11-13 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” Hosea 6:1 “Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.”

Though we are broken in rebuke, and though it is the true sacrifice of God, our Lord doesn’t want us to be down and out, but rather simply yielding to Him. So let us submit to our Lord and Father, let us rejoice and be glad, for His Love is everlasting! Let us repent, and be sorry for our sins. Yet let us get up and walk with our Lord more closely than before, for His Joy is our strength! Let us have that merry heart, so that our countenance may truly be cheerful because of what the Lord has done for us! He has forgiven our sins, as we truly seek to follow Him!

I love you so much, and please never forget that I keep you all in my fervent prayers. May God Bless you and guide you. I pray that He keeps you close to Him at all times, and that though you are rebuked by the Lord, you learn and repent, and take hold of His hands that He may heal you! Please keep all our brothers and sisters in your prayers. Have a blessed day today in the Lord our God!