Broken

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day four)

Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. v. 8

This verse startled me this week. David had committed egregious sins, and the Lord confronted David about his sin through the prophet Nathan. It is after this confrontation and confession that David writes this psalm. He runs to the Lord to repent, but also to receive comfort. He recognizes that while it was God alone who knew his sin, it is also God alone who can comfort him. The Lord “broke his bones” by convicting David of his sins, showing him his waywardness and revealing the ways in which his heart had wandered. The Lord “broke” David in this way not to hurt him, but to lovingly call him back to a life of faithfulness and holiness. As David ran into the Lord’s arms, repenting and seeking forgiveness, he found wholeness and joy. The Lord met him in his brokenness and used it to form David to become the man God intended him to be. Though it is painful, experiencing the Lord’s sanctifying work in our lives is beautiful. We can rejoice because while God breaks us, he doesn’t leave us broken. He reconstructs those broken pieces to make us more like him, which will inevitably bring us into the fullness of joy.