Victories Mask Brokenness

A False Sense of Success

The Bay Area actor and comedian suffered a panic attack and refused to leave his hotel room at night while filming “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” in Vancouver in April 2014, according to “Robin” by New York Times culture reporter David Itzkoff. To get him out of his funk, his make-up artist Cheri Minns suggested that Williams return to his roots by making a surprise appearance at a local comedy club. “I said, ‘Robin, why don’t you go and do stand-up?'” Minns is quoted in the book. The once rapid-fire comic broke down in tears.

A Vanity Fair excerpt from the biography focuses on Williams’ final days, which according to the book were filled with mental anguish and physical struggles. Williams committed suicide at his Tiburon home in August 2014.

Williams was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and instead suffered from Lewy body dementia, an aggressive and incurable brain disorder.

Success often keeps us from noticing the brokenness in one another.

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

The only way we know this is if we’ve been brokenhearted. The only way we know this is if we been through some traumatic situations.

The catalyst is this, in effort to understand the ability to have peace through trial is to understand that religious good behavior does not produce an untroubled good life.

Let’s go back to verse 12, who is the man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good. Then we have a remedy for a peaceful life regardless of circumstances.

Keep your tongue from evil

Don’t lie

Depart from evil

Seek peace

We cannot respond to brokenness by adding more brokenness to the situation!

We can reminisce over the victories because they are easy to recall, we have to be careful because victories can blind us from the brokenness in people’s lives.

The same David that defeated Goliath and wore his head around his neck like a new piece and chain was the same David that had problems being faithful to his wife.

The same David that was a king, was the same man that dealt with the sexual assualt of his daughter by his son.

The same David that led soldiers to victory, set up his own soldier because he had slept with his wife.

The same David that led an entire nation had to dealt with the revolt of his son Absalom.

It is tough as leaders and as men when even those close to you choose to betray you.

2 Samuel 15:31–37 NKJV

Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” Now it happened when David had come to the top of the mountain, where he worshiped God—there was Hushai the Archite coming to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. David said to him, “If you go on with me, then you will become a burden to me. But if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I was your father’s servant previously, so I will now also be your servant,’ then you may defeat the counsel of Ahithophel for me. And do you not have Zadok and Abiathar the priests with you there? Therefore it will be that whatever you hear from the king’s house, you shall tell to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Indeed they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son; and by them you shall send me everything you hear.” So Hushai, David’s friend, went into the city. And Absalom came into Jerusalem.

Sometimes the people closest to you will conspire to destroy you! And sometimes the place of refuge for your ancestors will be a place of warfare for you!

2 Samuel 17:22-23 “So David and all the people who were with him arose and crossed over the Jordan. By morning light not one of them was left who had not gone over the Jordan. Now when Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled a donkey, and arose and went home to his house, to his city. Then he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; and he was buried in his father’s tomb.”

Understand that God is near the brokenhearted! What this text shows me is that no matter the situation I have a decision to make.

Here’s the catalyst, when we respond according to the flesh our brokenness can turn into poor coping skills, self medication, and finding solace in things that are a detriment to our spirit.

Power is Decieving

The issue with power is we think we are stronger than we actually are. We think if we keep adding accomplishments to our resume our brokenness will dissapate.

This could not be further from the truth. God is the only one that can make us whole. Our faith is the only thing that can sustain us.

How many times during the miracles of Jesus does He say “your faith has made you whole”. There’s no way we can put broken pieces back together the same way God can. We did not create us therefore we cannot fix us! Only God can fix the brokenness in our lives.

Here’s the takeaway for every Ahithopel, God provides a Jonathan when close advisors leave us hanging.

Do not let your power decieve you into thinking that you are stronger than you actually are!

Broken Inside By Kristina

Here I lie,

Broken Inside,

Nowhere to go,

Nowhere to hide.

I'm left here all alone,

With no one by my side.

All I do is sit here and cry,

I'm so broken inside.

Too many problems,

Too many tears.

I'm bleeding blood and crying tears.

Unbearable pain, through all of these years.

No one in my life,

Really seems to care,

They go throughout their day,

Hardly noticing I'm here.

I'm alone in this world,

With nowhere to go,

Filled with so much sadness,

No one will ever know.

You can read it on my face,

You can see it in my eyes,

But no one ever takes the time to notice,

I'm broken inside.