The NIV 365 Day Devotional
He Breaks us to Make Us
There’s a good reason God calls his people sheep. Sometimes they act bad and wander away from the paths he has mapped out for them.
A good shepherd will relentlessly search for a wayward sheep. Sometimes, if the sheep refuses to follow his master, the shepherd takes drastic action. He breaks the sheep’s leg, places it upon his shoulders and carries the sheep until it learns total dependence. This is tough love—the shepherd breaks the sheep to make sure the sheep always follows the shepherd.
Jacob had always been a wanderer. He fled his home in Beersheba to escape his brother’s wrath and find a wife in Haran. On his journey, he encountered God at a place called Bethel and saw a stairway leading to heaven. Years later, Jacob left Haran along with his wives, children and property. One night he found himself at Jabbok, utterly alone. At this solitary place God, in the form of “a man,” sought out Jacob. God wanted to make Jacob into a different person, so he took drastic action. He initiated a wrestling match that lasted from dusk till dawn. Jacob’s willfulness would not allow him to give up. So the man “broke” Jacob, touching his hip so that he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Many people might become bitter and turn away from God for breaking them. But Jacob had just the opposite response. He clung to God saying, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
We may think that a God of love would never allow his children to feel any pain. But sometimes God breaks us to make us better. He may break our hearts so we will make room for him there. He may break our will so we can discover his will for us. He may break our physical strength so we discover that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). Like Jacob, the best response to God’s tough love is to cling to him and earnestly pray, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
If you’ve been acting like bad sheep and have wandered off the path, climb up on the shepherd’s shoulders and let him carry you home to healing.
Taken from the NIV Woman’s Devotional Bible.