Broken Rebels
“Look at all the broken pieces all around me
Pieces deep inside my soul
I don't know what's real, can't help the way I'm feeling
All I know is I'm alone.”
This Ellie Holcomb song, Rescue, continues:
”I need a rescue I need a reckoning
For all the things I’ve done and have been done to me
I need revival, I need recovery
I need to know that there’s an answer for what’s missing
Cause something’s missing.”
I remember early on in my walk with Jesus (probably around 2010/2011), I understood the message of our brokenness because of sin ravaging the world and humanity. I was and still am very self-aware of and sensitive to my own sin and brokenness.
We are all broken humans. We are also rebels.
Insecurities.
Sexual brokenness.
Addiction.
Mistreating ourselves and others.
Choosing not to follow and obey God.
“For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23
Hyper-focusing on our brokenness will have us forgetting how many times we have offended God and dishonored others. You are bound to walk around with pride in your step and malice in your words believing you have nothing to repent of. And if there is nothing to repent of, there is no need for a Savior. The Gospel is null and void.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Dwelling on our rebellious nature (Psalm 51:5) leads to dismissing and eventually bottling up our trauma and pain we have experienced in life. God has holy and righteous standards, but He is not a harsh and overbearing iron-fisted ruler who callously demands you repentance as recompense for your insubordination and rebellion towards Him. His only concern is not merely obedience to make sure you just do what’s right at all times. He is not waiting to destroy you for any violation of His law.
Brokenness leads to rebellion and rebellion leads to brokenness. It’s a vicious cycle.
Broken
Fractured in every way and in every area, like clay pots dropped from a 3rd story balcony.
“Clay pots may look sturdy and strong, but they're often fragile and easy to chip or break. Because they're porous, they absorb moisture like a sponge. Changes in the temperature, or freezing rain and snow can cause them to crack as the clay expands and contracts.”
This gives even more clarity and context to Isaiah 64:8:
”But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.”
Learning that tidbit about clay pots made me realize that we are not as strong as we look.
And we actually should not be as resilient as we are because the world was not meant to be this way: full of grief, sorrow, pain, danger, and hardship.
Brokenness comes from our childhoods. Trauma. Hurts. Pain. Suffering. Violation of boundaries. Hardship. Rejection. Addiction.
Through no fault of our own, we have to suffer as a result of other people’s sins.
Rebellious
Rebellious in every way and in every area; like the famous Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), except it’s not a good thing.
Rebels rise up to oppose a ruler or government that they believe is unjust, and sometimes they are armed.
But we aren’t armed with machetes, AK’s, or IED’s when we stage our spiritual coup. d’etat against the Lord.
We are armed with distrust. Hatred. Idolatry towards God in our rebellion.
Our weapons of warfare against God are spiritual and they manifest in the natural.
“Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
“Who take counsel, but not of Me,
And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
That they may add sin to sin;”
Isaiah 30:1
Satan is so deceptive. If he can make us believe that God doesn’t care about what happens to us, OR that there is no God, OR that we can be our own god, it’s easy to rebel. And it makes sense to do so.
Manifestations of Brokenness & Rebellion
The person who…
is promiscuous as a result of the sin that was committed against them - the violation of not just their body, but their mind, soul, and spirit. That violence manifested into rebellion against God, (possibly because of low self-esteem or in an effort to reclaim back what was stolen from them) against a God they believed didn’t protect them, let alone love them enough to protect them.
is having an identity crisis about their sexuality and/or gender and listens to the world because there is no truthful and compassionate response to what they are dealing with
indulges in substance abuse to numb the pain from their past and the hardships of the world
views pornography as an outlet and does not recognize or care how destructive it is to other image bearers or themselves.
has idolized the life or body of another person
