Stress Fractures

By Richard Lineberry

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:17

In my military days, I was trained as an X-ray technician. We learned all about bones and all the bad ways they could be injured. We learned about something called a stress fracture which was the result of repeated trauma to a bone such as a heel or other foot bone. Athletes, such as joggers, who jog too much can gradually get a tiny fracture which is really hard to heal because even walking makes it worse. Only two things will help a stress fracture: removing the weight that causes the stress and resting.
The word brokenness, in Christianity, has come to mean any sort of spiritual condition where you come to the end of your rope or the bottom falls out of your life. Such things as heart failure, financial crises, loss of job, etc., can be real stressors that drive us either to a state of depression or to God. Prolonged trials can create such a weight on us that we just....break. The good news about a broken bone, though, is that once it heals, the repaired area is stronger than before. That should speak to us.
Jesus continually sought out broken people. He said it was the sick that needed a physician. The woman at the well (John 4) was broken down with peer rejection, shame and failed relationships. Jesus quenched her thirst with the living water of the Holy Spirit. Another woman with the issue of blood was financially bankrupt by her condition and desperate for healing. She reached out and touched Jesus with faith and her stress was relieved. God knows how to change broken hearts and bodies.
Whatever condition you find yourself in, remember that “God does not despise a broken spirit” and He “draws nigh to them” (Ps. 51). If you find yourself in a powerless situation remember that God is most attracted to the humble. He specializes in situations you have no ability to change. Don’t assume a victim role where self pity steals your faith but know that God is building a testimony in you and making you a wounded healer that can continue the ministry of Jesus to those around you.