May Our Vessel Be Broken

By Gobel Brockman


     There's an incredible story in the Old Testament book of Judges about a man named Gideon. He was directed by God to attack the Midianites, who were oppressing the people of Israel. For the sake of time I need to jump to the end of the story. (The whole story of Gideon is found in Judges 6–8; I encourage you to read it.)

     At the outset there were several thousand men marching with Gideon. However, God whittled his army down to 300 men, for God told Gideon that when the victory was won, He wanted all of the glory. When his army was down to 300 soldiers, Gideon broke them up into three groups and gave each soldier three things: a shofar (a ram's horn used as a trumpet), an empty vessel, and a torch to place inside the vessel. He gave the command to the other two groups that when he and the men that were with him sounded their shofars and broke their vessels that they were to do likewise. When the vessels were shattered, the lights inside could be seen. The Bible says they then all shouted, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" At that point the Midianites went into confusion, began attacking each other, and tried to flee. The Lord won the battle for Israel that day.

     There are many lessons to be learned in this story, but this week I want to focus on just one: the light in their vessels couldn't be seen until the vessels were broken. In II Corinthians 4:7 Paul said that "we carry this treasure in earthen vessels." In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, "Men do not light a lamp and place it under a basket, but instead they place it on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house." Here's my point:

The light of Gideon's army could not be seen until the vessels were broken. The light of Christ won't be seen in us until we are broken as well.

     What do I mean by that? First, let me say what I don't mean: being "broken before the Lord" does not mean that we think of ourselves as scum, trash, and people that God tolerates – and probably wishes He didn't have to. No, 1 Peter 2:9 says that He has made us "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." John 3:16 does not say "For God so tolerated the world..." it says that He "loved the world." That's right – God loves YOU.

     So what does being "broken before the Lord" mean? I think Paul summed it up in Romans 7:18 when he said, "I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, there lies no good thing." It simply means that we recognize and acknowledge that we do not have the power within ourselves to set a captive free, heal a sick body, or shine light into the darkness. If I didn't have the power to save myself, I certainly don't have it to save anyone else. But if we are born again and filled with the Spirit of God, there is a light within us. Being broken before the Lord simply means that we get ourselves – our thoughts, our opinions, and our efforts – out of the way, and allow the Holy Spirit to move through us so that people can see the light of Christ in us.

     It's rather obvious that we are in a world that is filled with darkness. People are helpless and hopeless. Crime rates are rising while hope is dissipating. It is time for the church to rise up in holiness and purity and allow the light of Christ to shine through us. For that to happen, we must remain humble before the Lord and realize that any good accomplished through us is simply "Christ in us, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27) When we start thinking that we have it all together and figured out, what we're actually doing is trying to put pieces of that broken vessel back together. The more we do that, the more people will see us again instead of Christ. 

No good can come from that.

     There's only one Light that will pierce this world's darkness. May our vessels always be broken, and may the light of Christ always shine through our brokenness.