"When God Breaks You"

Scripture: "I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark." -Job 16:12

There's a classic nursery rhyme we have all read or heard during this lifetime that is very appropriate for today's topic. The title of the nursery rhyme is Humpy Dumpy. The rhyme goes a little something like this:

Humpy Dumpy sat on a wall,
Humpy Dumpy had a great fall,
All the King's horses and all the King's men,
Could not put Humpy back together again.

As we see, Humpy Dumpy went through it. I have seen illustrations that showed Humpy Dumpy shaped like an egg. We all know once you break an egg, there's no putting the egg back together. On today, though Humpy could not be put back together again, we, as men and women of God, can! If we cut the grass down short enough, we all have been broken at one point or another. We all have suffered the hard trials and tribulations. The great thing is this: God still was with you and He was still with me! Because of that, we can give Him a praise for the things He has done! On the other hand, God loves us so much that there are times we need to be broken by Him! Today's text illustrates what happens when God breaks you.

Today, our focus has been shifted to the book of Job. This book is the first book of the Poetry books within the Old Testament. According to research, Job was written in prose. Nevertheless, this book gives us the account of the life of a man who was perfect, upright, blameless, and one who hated evil, Job. Job was a rich man in the land of Uz, had everything any man/woman could want. He had an awesome wife and beautiful children and because of his love for God, he sacrificed and prayed on behalf of his family. Men and women of God, we can take a lesson from Job, and continuously pray for our families and place them before the throne of grace. Because Job was so good at what he was doing in serving God, Satan wanted to see what Job was really about, thus asking God permission to tamper with him. Do you realize that the enemy had to obtain permission to mess with you? Do you realize that Satan is looking for anyone of us to play with and tinker with? In any case, God told him that he can mess with Job all he wants, but do not touch his soul! The enemy wants to do anything he can to get to your soul, but don't you know that God has your soul guarded on today? As the story goes, Job went from having it all to losing it all. Children died, storm took away his belongings, gruesome sores grew on his face, his wife told him to curse God and die, and his friends were blaming Job for his heartaches and blues. Because of these episodes, it provides a segue into our text on today.

At the beginning of the text, we find where Job was before God broke him. The text says that "I was at ease". There was a time and a season where I loved my hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina and there, I was at ease. Just because you are at ease does not mean you are supposed to be where God wants you! Just because you are at ease does not mean you are operating in the place God wants you to operate! One thing I realize about God is He does His best work outside of your comfort zone! You ought to take a good look at yourself and ask yourself, "Am I at ease?"

If the answer is yes, then the remainder of the text must occur within your life. Then, Job continues and says, "but He hath broken me asunder", i.e., He has broken me down! Ladies and gentlemen, when you are sitting high on your perch of life, God has to break you down and bring you down so He can get the best out of you! Let's be real here for a moment: If we had all the money in the world, would we ever call on God? If we had the perfect marriage and perfect spouse, would we ever call on God? If we had everything our heart desired, would we ever call on God? I have a real answer for that: NO! When you are too comfortable, God has to break you down!

We also find out that Job continues to discuss his breakdown from God. He tells us that "He hath also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces". Sometimes, when God breaks us down, we do not necessarily react the way He desires, so because of that, He takes us by the neck and shakes us to pieces. He wants to know from us, what's wrong with you? Do you feel what I am saying here? Do you understand what I am trying to do for you? God breaks you down so He can get your attention!

Lastly, when God is breaking you, Job lets us know that he had "set me up for His mark". When God is finished breaking you down, He wants to leave a mark! The mark might be leave those women alone! The mark might be leave those married men alone! The mark might be leave that alcohol alone! The mark might be shut up lying about people! The mark might be stop gossiping about people! The mark might be to pray a little harder! The mark might be to focus your attention on Jesus! At the end of the day, when you have been broken by God, there will be a mark. The bigger question is will this mark affect you and your walk with Him?
In closing, Humpy was broke but could never be placed back together again, but you, my brother, and my sister, can! Job was broken down! He was taken from his place of ease, but at the end of the day, God left His mark on Job. As we know, at the end of Job, Job did not curse God and die, and thus prayed for his friends, and God gave Job double for his trouble! Will you allow God to break you in order for you to receive double for your trouble?