Image via WikipediaBreaking Point
Saturday, January 29, 2011
4:35 PM
It all started when I overheard my daughter talking to herself in the kitchen; it was her 31st birthday and she and her son and daughter were with us as she could not bear the mental torture she was facing with her in-laws and her jobless husband. She had to work as a government medical doctor, sometimes when patients are too many to cope with, she had to be on stand by 24 hours a day; then she had to come home, do the house work and cook for the family.
"Poor me," she said, "some people had good food when it comes to their birthday, me, even last year, I had only porridge to myself" I was already fuming mad at how the illegals from the neighboring countries are allowed to have my-kad under the UMNO's projek Mahathir, when I nicely approached my wife who was having dinner with my youngest daughter and asked her what she had cooked for dinner, expecting her to at least get the children, even over a simple dinner of kangkong and blacan, to eat together as a family just to mark and appreciate the hard work our daughter, who had sacrificed a lot for many years without adequate financial support when she did her University education, had put through but instead she shouted at me complaining I have not taken back the slasher which I used to cut the overgrown grass around the house in preparation for the CNY which she celebrates without fail every year - but not Christmas as she said God had no birthday.
That was the moment of my breaking point. I could feel my blood heating and rising up. If not for the Grace of God and the fact that it was my daughter's birthday, I could have really exploded like a volcano and end up hurting myself and every one on sight. To stop her from provoking me further, I just push the chair she was seated on and quickly went off. She fell down with the chair on the floor but at least that stopped her from going hysterical.
It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and vexing woman. - Prov 21:19
It will normally take me days, weeks and sometimes months to regain my sanity but the word of God and His Holy Spirit make it possible to beyond the breaking point and be renewed spiritually and emotionally to move on. Listen to the music that nature provides, the chirping of the insects, the freshness of that spring brings, the melodies of the birds make and thousand little things to testify the greatness and love of God the Father.
The following sermon had brought healing to my tattered and bleeding heart; I pray, it will do the same for you. PTL
When You are at the Breaking Point
Somebody right now is at the breaking point. The economy is anemic and your employment is in danger. You are at the breaking point. What will you do? How will you pay your bills? You are over 45, so who will hire you at this age, in this economy? You are at the Breaking point.
Somebody reading this is at the breaking point. Disease has disturbed your life and/or disease has disrupted a family members life and now you have to care for them. The medical bills are piling up, your energy is fastly evaporating and you are feeling alone in all this, you are at the breaking point. Somebody else is overwhelmed with the mis-direction of this country and the Mis-education coming from the corporate controlled media. Two unwinnable wars, a hateful and mean extreme right wing boldly dismissing, disparaging and disrespecting the Democratically elected president because he is a black man. You are at the Breaking point. To make matters worse this President that you put so much hope in for meaningful change has moved at snails pace to bring about that change. He has uselessly tried to appease folks who will never like him or vote for him; he has bailed out wall street and they took your tax money to give million dollar bonuses to cronies. What are you doing, Mr. President? Why is it that your campaign pledges are piled up in some corner in the White House while you dance the two step with the people who put you in office? You are at the breaking point. What kind of world will your children inherit? Young roving and marauding gangs of no particular origin are murdering innocent young people for the thrill of it; Law enforcement can catch a would be bomber in New York in 53 hours with no picture, no name and nobody snitching but the DOA bodies of hundreds of young Black & Brown boys and girls all across the major cities of this country go unsolved. What kind of life will your babies be forced to live in? An Oil spill in the gulf has already destroyed the way of life for hard working fishermen and threatens the ecology of this hemisphere because a materialistic corporation decided that the lives of the men working on the rig, and the lives of the people in the gulf were not as important as their profit margin. You don't want to watch the news, you are tired of mindless gossip from midget minded folks and you are sick of having more month than money, you are at the breaking point.
There is some Pastor out there who has tried to do their best, tried to be faithful to the calling of our Lord, tried to empower God's people through diligent exegesis of the Biblical text but who is beginning to feel that there hard work is going unappreciated. The people of God would rather hear about their break through than Jesus building up a beleaguered life; they would rather gravitate to a prosperity gospel of "G" string spirituality by throwing money on the pulpit to get it back three fold; they would rather be stimulated by the "Crack pipe" preaching of somebody who cannot spell seminary less known than have attended one and you brother/Sistah preacher are at the breaking point.
Somebody tired of wearing the mask of make believe mouthing meaningless churchy lingo "Too Bless to be stressed." You are stressed; you are sick; You don't sleep at night wondering what will happen next? You are sick and tired of watching those who don't care about who they hurt, who don't care who they walk over, who don't care who they discourage continue to operate without impunity. You are tired of having "No Good Deed go unpunished," You are tired of doing the right thing but owing the IRS while others doing the wrong thing flaunt their fake lives in your face. Why is God playing favorites? Why is God silent? Why is God letting the tyranny of wickedness run amok? You are at the breaking point!
Well Psalm 73 shows us David, The Shepard King was also at the breaking point in his life. David says "His foot had almost slipped, he had nearly lost his foothold because he had become envious of the arrogant and prosperity of the wicked..."(vv 1-3) Now before you put your foot in the stirrup to mount the judgement saddle, you too at some time was envious of some arrogant folks. We all have fallen short.. We all have wondered why them and not me? We all have been tempted. David saw folks who did not seem to have it hard, they seemed healthy vibrant, no worries, no burdens, carefree and enjoy the adulation of thousands..." (vv 4-10)Next time you dream, fantasize or visualize your life in the place of some wealthy, extremely popular bad boy actor or actress; next time you give excuse for somebody who commands the limelight but cowers away from the cause of conscious against a corrupt industry in order to stay a hot commodity you are where David is in the text.
David felt like he had kept his heart pure in vain; he felt his altruistic honesty was a waste; He looked at his life and frowned because he had constant pain, constant misery, constant Unmerited suffering. In fact David felt he was being punished every morning for striving to Be good (vv12-16).
Beloved when you are at the Breaking point all is not lost and it ain't destined or determined that it is all over. David gives us some direction when we feel the weight of the world weighing us down.
David fist of all shows us it is at that moment that we need to go to church! In Verse 17 he says, I could not understand what was happening to me "Until I entered the sanctuary of God..." Yes you can and must worship by yourself but you also need to feel the eternal ambiance of the Almighty in His sanctuary. Going to the House of the Lord will uplift your mental Attitude while giving Ascension to your Spiritual Altitude or (as the late Dr. Frederick G. Sampson used to say) "Heightens your vision and extends your horizons." David saw in the sanctuary of God that the wicked he had been envying had an expiration date on their arrogance. In other words no matter how well they seemed, no matter how good it looked for them, no matter how prosperous they seemed "All that glitters was not gold," and "Trouble don't last always." God showed David that his Destiny had unbroken continuity in his creator. His horizon perspective was extended to see beyond the external, temporary and material. David was able to see the "big picture." When we are at the breaking point the lens of our perspective tends to narrow on us, but if we can get to the Sanctuary of God, God will Uplift your mental Attitude while Adding Ascension to your spiritual Altitude.
God will also help us see that We (like David) are not Alone - Verse 23 "Yet I am always with you..." When you are at the breaking point get to the sanctuary of God and let God show you that he is with you, that he Holds you with his right (Mighty-Powerful) hand, let God show you that you ain't dead because his counsel has directed you even when you did not know God was leading you (vv23-24)You are not alone beloved, God has not forsaken you and God is still keeping you. You are still here; despite the evil deeds of the devil and his imps, you are still here; despite bad news all around, you are still here therefore you are Good news. My late daddy used to say "Where there's life there is Hope..." there is life in his Sanctuary; there is life in his holy temple; there is life in every prayer and there is life in you. That Breath you just took is God (His Ruach/Pneuma)therefore you have hope. "For Hope that is seen is no Hope at all, but if we Hope for that which we do not see, we wait for it patiently." That's why David could say "Wait on the Lord, for he will strengthen thine heart, Wait I say on the Lord."
Not only are you not alone but you have a divine Advocate and Almighty Assistance that is Always Available. Verse 25-26 "whom have I in Heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ...God is the strength of my Heart and my Portion forever." Everything earth bound is going to decay, lose its value or lose its importance to you at some time but God is good all the time. God is fresh every day, "Morning by Morning New Mercies I see...Great is Thy Faithfulness..." God is our holy Advocate in Heaven and our Almighty Assistance on earth. There is nothing or no one more exciting, energizing, hope facilitating or joy generating than God. And God Beloved never fails-People will fail, governments will fail, Corporations will fail, friends will fail you, family will fail you, church people will fail you But God will never fail you. He is your Portion forever! That is why David could Declare "The Lord is my light and my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid?...One thing I ask of the Lord and this is what I seek, that i may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple for in the day of trouble he shall hide me..."
Finally when David went into the Sanctuary of God he realized that there are others struggling like he had; Others who are ready to give up like he was; others at the Breaking point as he was and therefore he must Acknowledge and Announce God's Mighty Acts Goodness to all he encountered. Verse 28 "As for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell of all your deeds."
When you go into the Sanctuary of God, God will Uplift your mental Attitude While adding Ascension to your spiritual Altitude (Heighten your Visions & Extend your Horizons); God will also show you, that you are not Alone; God will demonstrate that God is your Divine Advocate in Heaven and your Almighty Assistance that is always Available. God ultimately depends on you to Acknowledge and Announce God's Mighty Acts to All you encounter. Don't keep it to yourself; Don't try to hold Good news for you and you only; Don't let selfishness strangle your Spiritual strength, tell somebody! Somebody needs to know the Goodness of the Lord, in the Land of the Living; Somebody needs to hear from somebody who WAS at the Breaking point but now is Back on track because of the Balm in Gilead; Somebody needs to see and hear about how far God has brought you. If you love to be near God like David, If you have made the Sovereign your refuge like David, If God's Spirit put Steel in back while in the Sanctuary then "Let the Redeemed of The Lord say so..." "when you've been Blessed...Pass it on..." I don't know about you but, I just got helped by this Passage and the Hope in God's House. So excuse me, but "I just wanna say that He is near me always..." Can I tell you, that "They whispered, conspired, they told me lies (But God favored me). Get to the sanctuary like David and worship the Lord! Don't look at what other people are doing look to the Lord. don't try listen to what people maybe saying listen to the songs of Zion being sung and worship him. Don't focus on them but worship Him! God wants to me somebody at the breaking point in his Sanctuary to serenade you with his Spirit; to Saturate you in his presence; to strengthen you in your struggle!
Further reading: <http://tuccgary.blogspot.com/2010/06/when-you-are-at-breaking-point.html>
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