Psalm 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

This is one of the most famous of David’s Psalms, and for excellent reason. It was written at probably the most dramatic juncture of his life, right after he was confronted by Nathan for his adultery with Bathsheba, having her husband killed in battle. As an absolute monarch, as kings were in those days, what he had done was “legal,” in a sense, but it was certainly morally reprehensible. Compared to other kings of his day, what was remarkable about David was his humility, that was firmly based on his awareness that all the achievements of his life – and some were remarkable – were by the power of God, and not simply his own. David was genuinely shocked that he had done something so horrible, and he didn’t begin to pretend innocence. He had other failures in life, particularly in parenting, but this was a watershed moment, and he responded well. If we are unwilling to be broken over our failures, we are making ourselves unavailable to God.. He can still use us, but not in ways that will be pleasant to us or that we would desire! We aren’t to copy David’s failures, but we do need to learn from him, because we will certainly have failures of our own.

This is, frankly, the great battle of my life. Pride has been a snare to me all along, blinding me to the devil’s traps and to my own sins. The Lord very graciously gave me a glimpse of the filth in my own soul when I was 24, and I was devastated. You would think that would have cured me of pride forever, but pride has continued to trip me up throughout my life. I know absolutely that every good in my life is by the grace of God, but I still tend to get puffed up! I need to be broken to the place that hot air won’t be able to inflate me at all. I can’t do that to myself, but I can choose to be submitted to God, and to my Lord who was scourged and crucified in my place. Jesus allowed Himself to be totally broken for me. I need to receive that by faith to the point that His brokenness is fully manifested in me, so that nothing will get in the way of Him being manifested through me, for His glory alone.

P: Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for enabling me to finish that Smith Wigglesworth book last night, and for waking me with the hymn, Send a Great Revival to my Soul. You have given me a powerful message for this morning. May I be totally submitted and available to You, so that Your Word through me may accomplish all that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!