Too Broken to Hear the Good News
by Lambert Bariho
The people of Israel were suffering a lot as slaves in Egypt. But God called Moses to go and take them from slavery to the Promised Land. However, when Moses talked to Pharaoh to let them go, things became worse. They were ordered to make the same number of bricks per day without being given straw, as before. When they failed, they were severely beaten, and became very discouraged.
In the midst of all of this, God sent Moses with good news full of the promises of what He was about to do for them! God still remembered His Covenant! He was about to take them from slavery, and redeem them with an outstretched arm to be His people in the Promised Land, and He would be their God.
As great as this news was, the people of Israel failed to listen! Why? It was ‘because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery’. It seems like the message of encouragement didn’t get through to them at all, because ‘they were that beaten down in spirit by the harsh slave conditions’ (Exodus 6:9, the Message).
This is what happens to many of us – if not all of us – at different times in our lives. We may be so broken inside that we fail to hear the Good News that the Lord has for us. At times, we fail to hear from Him at all, because of our broken spirit.
No wonder part of what Jesus came to do is to heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1-3), so that we may be able to hear our Father God once again. And I believe one of the main steps to hearing from Him again is to allow Him to come inside us, to heal and restore us.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for the times I’ve ignored Your voice and failed to hear what You had to say, because of my brokenness. I give You permission today to come in and bring Your healing into my spirit. Please come and speak to me once again today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Lambert Bariho Lambert served with a student ministry for five years before joining Ellel Ministries. Together with his wife Catherine, he currently leads the work of Ellel Ministries in Rwanda. His passion is to see people come to the knowledge of the truth of God and be set free.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
