How to Have Faith During Your Brokenness
The best fruit always begins with broken soil. Faith is often exercised and grown, through waiting, weeping, and weakness.
“God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” —Charles Spurgeon
As a kid, I'd watch my neighbor go out and plant a garden to grow fruits and vegetables. He'd drag out his rototiller and start demolishing the ground—breaking it up, busting it up, moving it around—and he’d be out there for hours doing this. Seemed strange to me at the time, as a four yr. old, as when he finished tilling, I'd see the ground always looked worse than when he started. 😆 The dirt looked so much nicer when it was left untouched. Undisturbed. Unbroken. Now, it just looked like a giant mess.
Of course, later I learned that his breaking up the dirt wasn’t pointless after all, but rather a means of priming the soil. And that’s because he knew that the best fruit always begins with broken soil. He knew that even if it didn’t seem like it at first, that brokenness was necessary for the joys and fruit that would come later.
How many times do we experience pain and difficulties in life, and wonder, “Why would God allow this? What is he doing?
Certainly, the Israelites must’ve been asking these questions every time they walked past the rubble of Jerusalem’s walls, which had been lying there for 150 years, as a constant reminder of their exile and shame and homelessness. As we see in Nehemiah 1 of the Bible, the walls of Jerusalem were broken; the people’s hearts were broken; and Nehemiah’s own heart was broken.
When any Israelite looked around, all they would see was brokenness.
And yet, despite all of this brokenness, Nehemiah didn’t lose hope. He had faith that God could bring redemption from the rubble. He had faith that God would bring fruit from the torn-up soil.
Scripture teaches that we can have this same faith, even in the brokenness in our own lives. But the question is, where can we get it? Where can we get this kind of faith?
Consider this for a moment. Chapter 1 says that Nehemiah spent days and nights praying, weeping, and fasting. And this all culminated with Nehemiah’s tear-soaked prayer at the end of the chapter, where he pours his heart out for God to answer. However, for four months, nothing happened.
What is our hope in these situations?
We have the benefit, as readers, to see the end of Nehemiah’s story—and we’re about to see that what initially seemed like unanswered prayer, was about to get answered in a big way. While we don’t have the benefit of reading the future in our own lives, this passage reminds us that delay is not denial—and that with us in our suffering, is the God who loves us and has promised to work all things together for our good in the end.
Through this passage, God is reminding us to be patient, when prayers seem to be going unanswered. I love James 5:7-8:
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near."
Our ultimate hope and promise is not in our ability to know the future, but in the character and promises of our Savior. As Oswald Chambers put it, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and [trusts] the One who is leading.”
Where does faith grow? It often grows in the broken soil of waiting. Secondly, faith often grows in the broken soil of weeping. I have experienced both, in what I call God's waiting room, and I can tell you that he does come through. It pays off to be patient. And we can do that knowing that God always has our best interest at heart and he always gives his best to us. Even when we can't seem to understand things at the time.
While it may have seemed to Nehemiah that his tears were falling to the ground without God noticing, this text shows us that God did not forget his tears. And so, too, when you commit your tears to God, you can rest knowing that none of them will be forgotten or wasted. We are reminded of this reality all throughout Scripture, especially the psalms:
Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.”
Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may come through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 56:8 says, “You have kept count of my troubles; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”
Over and over in Scripture, God promises that one day, he will bear fruit through all of our tears. He keeps count of them all and keeps them in his bottle. In the meantime, he has promised to walk with us and to renew our faith, as we look to him daily for help and put our trust in him.
So, faith grows in the broken soil of waiting and weeping. Third and finally, faith often grows in the broken soil of weakness.
In verses 2-3 of Nehemiah:
The king asked, “Why does your face look so sad, when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” Nehemiah was very much afraid.
Being sad in the presence of the king could’ve been dangerous or even deadly, which is part of why Nehemiah felt so afraid. We can be thankful that Christ is not a King like this. Jesus does not get angry with us for being sad. Instead, he invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace with all of our emotions, that we may find mercy and help, in time of need.
I think one of the most encouraging parts of this text is what it does not say. Notice that it does not say, “And then Nehemiah suddenly felt a surge of strength before responding to the king.” Nor does it say, “Suddenly, Nehemiah felt very confident and brave.” Instead, it says, “Nehemiah was very much afraid.” Consider this: Immediately before Nehemiah acted in faith, he did not feel strong; he felt weak.
Why is this encouraging? Well, because it reminds us that true faith is not even the absence of fear. True faith is trusting and obeying God in the midst of fear. Believing despite our circumstances. God rewards our faith with answered prayer. But remember... we rely on God's timing because it is perfect, unlike our own, so we must have patience, but we do have the promise that he will answer and he always does. We must trust that whatever or however he answers, it is always our best interest that he has at heart. If he says "no", then he could be saving you from certain disaster. He knows if our choices are right or wrong and how they will affect us. He always knows best and even the right timing, because he can see into our future.
God’s grace is not just something we need after we fail. God’s grace is also what we need to succeed in anything. I think regularly of Jesus’ words in John 15:5: “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” He was not saying we aren’t smart. He's telling us He is the answer to life's troubles and we are strongest when we have faith in him and allow him to help, by his power and promises.
Faith always grows not through mere planning and imagining, but through actually taking action. And the ultimate reality that gives us courage to take action is knowing that God’s gracious hand is on us and he is with us. Nothing is impossible or too hard for God to handle.
Even if you feel fear in your life today, you can still act in faith. Fear and faith are not mutually exclusive. Trembling faith is still faith.
In fact, faith almost always grows...and is almost always exercised...not when we’re feeling strong, but when we’re feeling weak. You may remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take my thorn in the flesh away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Yes, strong....as he leaned on the power and wisdom of the Lord. I, myself, remember trembling in great fear one time, but I still believed God and decided to act in faith, going forward and doing what I needed to do, despite my circumstances, and God did see me through, and he will do the same for you. If you feel weak today, remember: The best fruit always begins with broken soil. God promises to bring redemption through the rubble of our waiting, weeping, and weakness. Challenges/problems builds our faith, as what good would faith be, without circumstances that grow it?
Faith is not a sign of weakness. It is a testimony of courage in believing God, though all may seem lost...but through Jesus, it is definitely not. Jesus encourages us to come to him with our every need. He waits for us, and he knows every tear that drops from our eyes. Contrary to belief, Jesus is not a believer's crutch. He is the remedy. He is Hope, and faithful to his promises and his people. He loves all of us the same and wants all of us to come to him with our every care, so he can help us and give us rest, both physically and spiritually.
Jesus is hope to weary hearts and a light to our path, leading us all the way. I know in my deepest sorrows through the years, when they came, that Jesus never failed to give me hope and peace when I came to him in prayer, and he is not partial to anyone. What he does for one, he will do for another, if they will come to him. Sometimes we have not, because we ask not. James 4:2 in the Bible confirms that if you don't receive something, it may be because you haven't asked God for it. It encourages people to communicate their needs and desires to God through prayer. When we come to Jesus, we're showing faith that we believe and trust in him. He honors that and answers prayers. James identifies that the root cause of these problems is often a lack of communication with God, particularly when it comes to desires and needs. Our goal in times of difficulty is not merely to ‘get through it,’ but to trust God and allow him to bear fruit in us and through us.
The Bible doesn't say we are "just" conquerors through Christ, but that we are more than conquerors through Christ, who loves us. When we trust in Christ alone, that puts Christ in action on our behalf.
It’s important for us to remember that it is God who ultimately grows our faith. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
In 1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV, Apollos is a fellow worker of Paul, not a false god. He's described as someone who "watered" the gospel, meaning he helped nurture and grow the faith in the church at Corinth. Paul uses an agricultural metaphor to illustrate that while both he and Apollos contributed, it was God who ultimately gave the growth. Paul emphasizes that neither he nor Apollos are responsible for the spiritual growth of the church. He credits God with giving the growth, meaning God is the ultimate source of power and life in the church.
Ultimately, all faith comes from God. The Bible says if we lack faith then we should ask God for it, and wisdom, and he will give it. Faith is a gift from God. He gives us enough faith to exercise belief in Jesus as Savior and helps us grow in faith, as we walk with Christ in our daily lives.
Ephesians 2:8. It says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God".
James 1:5 KJV: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
“God is too good to be unkind, and He is too wise to be mistaken. When we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.” —Charles Spurgeon
As a kid, I'd watch my neighbor go out and plant a garden to grow fruits and vegetables. He'd drag out his rototiller and start demolishing the ground—breaking it up, busting it up, moving it around—and he’d be out there for hours doing this. Seemed strange to me at the time, as a four yr. old, as when he finished tilling, I'd see the ground always looked worse than when he started. 😆 The dirt looked so much nicer when it was left untouched. Undisturbed. Unbroken. Now, it just looked like a giant mess.
Of course, later I learned that his breaking up the dirt wasn’t pointless after all, but rather a means of priming the soil. And that’s because he knew that the best fruit always begins with broken soil. He knew that even if it didn’t seem like it at first, that brokenness was necessary for the joys and fruit that would come later.
How many times do we experience pain and difficulties in life, and wonder, “Why would God allow this? What is he doing?
Certainly, the Israelites must’ve been asking these questions every time they walked past the rubble of Jerusalem’s walls, which had been lying there for 150 years, as a constant reminder of their exile and shame and homelessness. As we see in Nehemiah 1 of the Bible, the walls of Jerusalem were broken; the people’s hearts were broken; and Nehemiah’s own heart was broken.
When any Israelite looked around, all they would see was brokenness.
And yet, despite all of this brokenness, Nehemiah didn’t lose hope. He had faith that God could bring redemption from the rubble. He had faith that God would bring fruit from the torn-up soil.
Scripture teaches that we can have this same faith, even in the brokenness in our own lives. But the question is, where can we get it? Where can we get this kind of faith?
Consider this for a moment. Chapter 1 says that Nehemiah spent days and nights praying, weeping, and fasting. And this all culminated with Nehemiah’s tear-soaked prayer at the end of the chapter, where he pours his heart out for God to answer. However, for four months, nothing happened.
What is our hope in these situations?
We have the benefit, as readers, to see the end of Nehemiah’s story—and we’re about to see that what initially seemed like unanswered prayer, was about to get answered in a big way. While we don’t have the benefit of reading the future in our own lives, this passage reminds us that delay is not denial—and that with us in our suffering, is the God who loves us and has promised to work all things together for our good in the end.
Through this passage, God is reminding us to be patient, when prayers seem to be going unanswered. I love James 5:7-8:
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near."
Our ultimate hope and promise is not in our ability to know the future, but in the character and promises of our Savior. As Oswald Chambers put it, “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and [trusts] the One who is leading.”
Where does faith grow? It often grows in the broken soil of waiting. Secondly, faith often grows in the broken soil of weeping. I have experienced both, in what I call God's waiting room, and I can tell you that he does come through. It pays off to be patient. And we can do that knowing that God always has our best interest at heart and he always gives his best to us. Even when we can't seem to understand things at the time.
While it may have seemed to Nehemiah that his tears were falling to the ground without God noticing, this text shows us that God did not forget his tears. And so, too, when you commit your tears to God, you can rest knowing that none of them will be forgotten or wasted. We are reminded of this reality all throughout Scripture, especially the psalms:
Psalm 126:5 says, “Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.”
Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may come through the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 56:8 says, “You have kept count of my troubles; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”
Over and over in Scripture, God promises that one day, he will bear fruit through all of our tears. He keeps count of them all and keeps them in his bottle. In the meantime, he has promised to walk with us and to renew our faith, as we look to him daily for help and put our trust in him.
So, faith grows in the broken soil of waiting and weeping. Third and finally, faith often grows in the broken soil of weakness.
In verses 2-3 of Nehemiah:
The king asked, “Why does your face look so sad, when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” Nehemiah was very much afraid.
Being sad in the presence of the king could’ve been dangerous or even deadly, which is part of why Nehemiah felt so afraid. We can be thankful that Christ is not a King like this. Jesus does not get angry with us for being sad. Instead, he invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace with all of our emotions, that we may find mercy and help, in time of need.
I think one of the most encouraging parts of this text is what it does not say. Notice that it does not say, “And then Nehemiah suddenly felt a surge of strength before responding to the king.” Nor does it say, “Suddenly, Nehemiah felt very confident and brave.” Instead, it says, “Nehemiah was very much afraid.” Consider this: Immediately before Nehemiah acted in faith, he did not feel strong; he felt weak.
Why is this encouraging? Well, because it reminds us that true faith is not even the absence of fear. True faith is trusting and obeying God in the midst of fear. Believing despite our circumstances. God rewards our faith with answered prayer. But remember... we rely on God's timing because it is perfect, unlike our own, so we must have patience, but we do have the promise that he will answer and he always does. We must trust that whatever or however he answers, it is always our best interest that he has at heart. If he says "no", then he could be saving you from certain disaster. He knows if our choices are right or wrong and how they will affect us. He always knows best and even the right timing, because he can see into our future.
God’s grace is not just something we need after we fail. God’s grace is also what we need to succeed in anything. I think regularly of Jesus’ words in John 15:5: “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.” He was not saying we aren’t smart. He's telling us He is the answer to life's troubles and we are strongest when we have faith in him and allow him to help, by his power and promises.
Faith always grows not through mere planning and imagining, but through actually taking action. And the ultimate reality that gives us courage to take action is knowing that God’s gracious hand is on us and he is with us. Nothing is impossible or too hard for God to handle.
Even if you feel fear in your life today, you can still act in faith. Fear and faith are not mutually exclusive. Trembling faith is still faith.
In fact, faith almost always grows...and is almost always exercised...not when we’re feeling strong, but when we’re feeling weak. You may remember Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take my thorn in the flesh away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Yes, strong....as he leaned on the power and wisdom of the Lord. I, myself, remember trembling in great fear one time, but I still believed God and decided to act in faith, going forward and doing what I needed to do, despite my circumstances, and God did see me through, and he will do the same for you. If you feel weak today, remember: The best fruit always begins with broken soil. God promises to bring redemption through the rubble of our waiting, weeping, and weakness. Challenges/problems builds our faith, as what good would faith be, without circumstances that grow it?
Faith is not a sign of weakness. It is a testimony of courage in believing God, though all may seem lost...but through Jesus, it is definitely not. Jesus encourages us to come to him with our every need. He waits for us, and he knows every tear that drops from our eyes. Contrary to belief, Jesus is not a believer's crutch. He is the remedy. He is Hope, and faithful to his promises and his people. He loves all of us the same and wants all of us to come to him with our every care, so he can help us and give us rest, both physically and spiritually.
Jesus is hope to weary hearts and a light to our path, leading us all the way. I know in my deepest sorrows through the years, when they came, that Jesus never failed to give me hope and peace when I came to him in prayer, and he is not partial to anyone. What he does for one, he will do for another, if they will come to him. Sometimes we have not, because we ask not. James 4:2 in the Bible confirms that if you don't receive something, it may be because you haven't asked God for it. It encourages people to communicate their needs and desires to God through prayer. When we come to Jesus, we're showing faith that we believe and trust in him. He honors that and answers prayers. James identifies that the root cause of these problems is often a lack of communication with God, particularly when it comes to desires and needs. Our goal in times of difficulty is not merely to ‘get through it,’ but to trust God and allow him to bear fruit in us and through us.
The Bible doesn't say we are "just" conquerors through Christ, but that we are more than conquerors through Christ, who loves us. When we trust in Christ alone, that puts Christ in action on our behalf.
It’s important for us to remember that it is God who ultimately grows our faith. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
In 1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV, Apollos is a fellow worker of Paul, not a false god. He's described as someone who "watered" the gospel, meaning he helped nurture and grow the faith in the church at Corinth. Paul uses an agricultural metaphor to illustrate that while both he and Apollos contributed, it was God who ultimately gave the growth. Paul emphasizes that neither he nor Apollos are responsible for the spiritual growth of the church. He credits God with giving the growth, meaning God is the ultimate source of power and life in the church.
Ultimately, all faith comes from God. The Bible says if we lack faith then we should ask God for it, and wisdom, and he will give it. Faith is a gift from God. He gives us enough faith to exercise belief in Jesus as Savior and helps us grow in faith, as we walk with Christ in our daily lives.
Ephesians 2:8. It says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God".
James 1:5 KJV: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
