What do you think?
Rate this book
Brokenness: The Heart God Revives
Every great movement of God is preceded by a season of humility and repentance. It is a time of tearing down walls, of getting honest with God and others about your true spiritual condition. It may be hard. It may hurt. But in the end, God will use your brokenness to restore your 'first love' for Jesus, rekindle your spiritual fire, reconcile your relationships, and repair your life.
A richer, deeper, more God-filled life is waiting for you. And it all begins with Brokenness, the first book inThe Revive Our Hearts Series, which has sold well over 80,000 copies!
A richer, deeper, more God-filled life is waiting for you. And it all begins with Brokenness, the first book inThe Revive Our Hearts Series, which has sold well over 80,000 copies!
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2002
75 people are currently reading
736 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Leigh DeMoss
127 books445 followersNancy DeMoss Wolgemuth also known as Nancy Leigh DeMoss is the host and teacher for Revive Our Hearts and Seeking Him, two nationally-syndicated programs heard each weekday on over 1,000 radio stations. She is a mentor and spiritual mother to thousands of women and a leader of the True Woman movement.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
December 1, 2023
UNTIL YOU MAKE YOUR UNCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS, IT WILL DIRECT YOUR LIFE AND YOU WILL CALL IT FATE.
Carl Jung
Religious Revival is the experience of making the unconscious conscious - IF you already are lucky enough to have faith. And it can change your life.
This book is the detailed story of how revival has positively (and negatively, for openers) affected some ordinary people.
For revival in your heart FIRST produces brokenness - and Eventually, a new and wonderfully real wholeness...
When the complications of modern life are pushing you to the absolute breaking point, don’t lose hope!
As that great poet T.S. Eliot once observed, ‘What we call the End is often the Beginning...´
And it’s only when we lose ourselves that we find ourselves.
Twelve years ago, I saw a First Nations Christian broadcast here in Canada about an amazing aboriginal musical duo, a longtime husband and wife team.
He, and I think his name was Bert, was Métis; his wife was pure Cree.
They had lost everything in a house fire, including the very frame of the house itself. Her face was still disfigured by skin grafts because of it.
And yet - against all odds - in this they found reason for HOPE.
And the face of this strong Cree woman radiated pure JOY.
And, you know - Bert recommended this very book to the TV audience, so I ordered it immediately, reeling, myself, from a workplace burnout. And I read it.
I’ll never forget that first reading!
I read that when our flimsy, social self is razed to the ground, the Spirit is reborn in us.
And I read that ALL the people mentioned by Nancy Leigh deMoss somehow found LIFE in BROKENNESS.
Now, you gotta know that this happened at a time, after I retired, when as Simon and Garfunkel said, half of the time I was gone, but didn’t know Where!
This book helped change that.
For it made me SEE what I had so long AVOIDED.
WHY did it happen THAT way?
Because Some One much greater than I wanted to take over the driver's seat. Permanently.
It's that simple.
If the Bad Guys break us first - as happened to me - guess what?
We’ve been reduced to zero for a purpose - to finally know humility before our Maker. And Real Grace.
And once we see that, WE can once again be ordinary and simple again, with the gift of a brand new - and much gentler spirit.
We‘ll know PEACE AT LAST.
The medieval Buddhist writer Dogen was asked if permanent change in our complicated human nature is even remotely possible for us endlessly-mixed-up beings...
He simply replied, ‘Once firewood becomes ashes it doesn’t return to being firewood!´
Once the pain of burning ends, doubt disappears. Strange, isn’t it, that crashing and burning gives us a New Heart in the ashes? For then, and only then, we SEE for the first time.
So, Yes, it IS possible - and that’s how it happens. In the Fire.
And Burnout - and even Death - can be the same thing, a ´sea change into something rich(er)’ as Shakespeare’s last enchanted tale tells.
It all depends on our attitude. Brokenness CAN RESTORE US - on the INSIDE!
But it takes quite a while to get to that point, and not a little growing pain. And a lot of Faith.
You see, our complicated outer husk, which the modern media exalts to no end, has to wither away - to expose the seed of a new life beneath.
It’s no fun to lose your so-called importance - but maybe new-found JOY IN LIVING is infinitely MORE important. What if you could Really Relate to those you love for the FIRST TIME?
Maybe, just maybe, we’ve been grabbing the stick by the wrong end! We’re so afraid of the Unknown, for all we know is conformity.
We’re so busy in our complicated lives we can no longer really SAVOUR what’s in right in front of us - our own PRESENT.
And you will never see the true present unless your self-conscious heart crashes and burns. That End IS the Beginning.
What have we LOST? Hey, remember Piet Hein?
Living is
The thing we do
Now or Never -
Which do YOU?
So Nancy Leigh deMoss seems to say, too. We can’t LIVE if we’re always worried about what our friends think of us!
So, when our card house collapses, just go with the flow. Don’t fight it. Those card houses are WAY too complicated anyway!
And then now... go back to a SIMPLER and MORE COMPLETE Life!
Otherwise known as Basic, Peace-filled, Joyful Reality!
Carl Jung
Religious Revival is the experience of making the unconscious conscious - IF you already are lucky enough to have faith. And it can change your life.
This book is the detailed story of how revival has positively (and negatively, for openers) affected some ordinary people.
For revival in your heart FIRST produces brokenness - and Eventually, a new and wonderfully real wholeness...
When the complications of modern life are pushing you to the absolute breaking point, don’t lose hope!
As that great poet T.S. Eliot once observed, ‘What we call the End is often the Beginning...´
And it’s only when we lose ourselves that we find ourselves.
Twelve years ago, I saw a First Nations Christian broadcast here in Canada about an amazing aboriginal musical duo, a longtime husband and wife team.
He, and I think his name was Bert, was Métis; his wife was pure Cree.
They had lost everything in a house fire, including the very frame of the house itself. Her face was still disfigured by skin grafts because of it.
And yet - against all odds - in this they found reason for HOPE.
And the face of this strong Cree woman radiated pure JOY.
And, you know - Bert recommended this very book to the TV audience, so I ordered it immediately, reeling, myself, from a workplace burnout. And I read it.
I’ll never forget that first reading!
I read that when our flimsy, social self is razed to the ground, the Spirit is reborn in us.
And I read that ALL the people mentioned by Nancy Leigh deMoss somehow found LIFE in BROKENNESS.
Now, you gotta know that this happened at a time, after I retired, when as Simon and Garfunkel said, half of the time I was gone, but didn’t know Where!
This book helped change that.
For it made me SEE what I had so long AVOIDED.
WHY did it happen THAT way?
Because Some One much greater than I wanted to take over the driver's seat. Permanently.
It's that simple.
If the Bad Guys break us first - as happened to me - guess what?
We’ve been reduced to zero for a purpose - to finally know humility before our Maker. And Real Grace.
And once we see that, WE can once again be ordinary and simple again, with the gift of a brand new - and much gentler spirit.
We‘ll know PEACE AT LAST.
The medieval Buddhist writer Dogen was asked if permanent change in our complicated human nature is even remotely possible for us endlessly-mixed-up beings...
He simply replied, ‘Once firewood becomes ashes it doesn’t return to being firewood!´
Once the pain of burning ends, doubt disappears. Strange, isn’t it, that crashing and burning gives us a New Heart in the ashes? For then, and only then, we SEE for the first time.
So, Yes, it IS possible - and that’s how it happens. In the Fire.
And Burnout - and even Death - can be the same thing, a ´sea change into something rich(er)’ as Shakespeare’s last enchanted tale tells.
It all depends on our attitude. Brokenness CAN RESTORE US - on the INSIDE!
But it takes quite a while to get to that point, and not a little growing pain. And a lot of Faith.
You see, our complicated outer husk, which the modern media exalts to no end, has to wither away - to expose the seed of a new life beneath.
It’s no fun to lose your so-called importance - but maybe new-found JOY IN LIVING is infinitely MORE important. What if you could Really Relate to those you love for the FIRST TIME?
Maybe, just maybe, we’ve been grabbing the stick by the wrong end! We’re so afraid of the Unknown, for all we know is conformity.
We’re so busy in our complicated lives we can no longer really SAVOUR what’s in right in front of us - our own PRESENT.
And you will never see the true present unless your self-conscious heart crashes and burns. That End IS the Beginning.
What have we LOST? Hey, remember Piet Hein?
Living is
The thing we do
Now or Never -
Which do YOU?
So Nancy Leigh deMoss seems to say, too. We can’t LIVE if we’re always worried about what our friends think of us!
So, when our card house collapses, just go with the flow. Don’t fight it. Those card houses are WAY too complicated anyway!
And then now... go back to a SIMPLER and MORE COMPLETE Life!
Otherwise known as Basic, Peace-filled, Joyful Reality!
September 16, 2022
¡Maravilloso libro!
February 15, 2019
Don't read this book if you'd rather not reevaluate your life and motives. Don't read it if you'd rather not be honest with yourself. And definitely don't read it if you aren't willing to be honest with God and with others.
I must admit, the idea of living with "roof off and walls down" makes me uncomfortable. But no more uncomfortable than the realization that I am seriously challenged with the sin of pride. Thanks to the message of this book, as well as some other things that are currently going on in my life, I've acknowledged the fact that I am trying to live unbroken. And thanks to that, during the last few days I have experienced a closeness with God I hadn't known for months.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
I must admit, the idea of living with "roof off and walls down" makes me uncomfortable. But no more uncomfortable than the realization that I am seriously challenged with the sin of pride. Thanks to the message of this book, as well as some other things that are currently going on in my life, I've acknowledged the fact that I am trying to live unbroken. And thanks to that, during the last few days I have experienced a closeness with God I hadn't known for months.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
February 28, 2022
Wow, convicting much?
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
Thankful for this book and how it has shown me the ugliness of my pride and sin.
Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress,
Helpless, look to thee for grace.
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.
Thankful for this book and how it has shown me the ugliness of my pride and sin.
March 29, 2018
I first read this book about six years ago, and it was very good then. I just re-read (or listened) to it. Wow. Ouch. Yes, it was just as good as I remembered. In essence, this is a book about confronting pride in its many forms, and breaking self of its fleshly tendencies. I appreciate how “versatile” this book is. The truths in it are very clearly applicable to any season of life, any walk of life. They are not presented in a limited way, but rather, principles are given so that the reader can do their own soul-and-heart-searching.
Examples are taken not only from individuals that Mrs. Wolgemuth personally knew, but also from many events and people in Scriptures. Both sides of the coin are explored (those who had humble submission to God and those who proudly resisted—or couldn’t see their need) and the reader is brought face to face with the question: “Which one am I like?”
This is by no means an easy read, but it is so much a needful one!
Examples are taken not only from individuals that Mrs. Wolgemuth personally knew, but also from many events and people in Scriptures. Both sides of the coin are explored (those who had humble submission to God and those who proudly resisted—or couldn’t see their need) and the reader is brought face to face with the question: “Which one am I like?”
This is by no means an easy read, but it is so much a needful one!
Currently reading
February 4, 2011some books are just plain hard to read....they are the best kind!!
February 4, 2022
Gran libro! Muy práctico y profundo. Te lleva durante un viaje que permite examinar tu corazón, pensamientos, vida y actitudes a luz del quebrantamiento y el orgullo. Totalmente recomendado para quienes buscan cómo crecer en una vida con un corazón rendido, humilde y dócil para Jesús.
July 5, 2025
Loved the teaching of brokenness but would like more in depth study. A word study in scripture would be a wonderful companion to this topics of brokenness and humility.
May 30, 2025
Such a good read. Really encouraging of the truth that when we reach the end of ourselves, that’s where Christ begins!
January 30, 2021
Tenía las expectativas un poco altas con este libro por haber leído hace poco otro de la misma autora que me gustó mucho. Si bien me llevó a meditar sobre cosas en mi vida que debo trabajar, estoy un poco decepcionada con la forma del libro de abordar el tema. Se mencionan constantemente y con demasiado detalle historias de personas que se quebrantaron haciendo demasiado foco (a mi parecer) en la necesidad de exteriorizar el quebrantamiento. También fue pobre la base bíblica y algunos versículos mencionados me parecieron medio sacados de contexto. La definición de lo que es el quebrantamiento me pareció muy vaga.
A pesar de todo, recomiendo el libro como una pequeña introducción para meditar sobre la necesidad de un corazón quebrantado ante Dios
A pesar de todo, recomiendo el libro como una pequeña introducción para meditar sobre la necesidad de un corazón quebrantado ante Dios
Read
June 3, 2014This was both convicting and encouraging-- I am left with a lot to think about in relation to my own need for brokenness in the sight of the Lord.
October 14, 2010
DeMoss begins her book recording an event that occurred in 1995 at a Campus Crusade for Christ staff meeting of four thousand people.
A wave of revival in the form of confession and repentance swept through the group for a number of days and lives were changed.
This book on brokenness and humility has changed the way I think about myself, my sin, and God's provision of Jesus' sacrifice.
She gives quite a list of the way that "Proud People" look at others, God, sin and so on. At least in my culture, looking at things the way I do, I come up pretty short. It is pretty revealing. I am a pretty proud person, in a lot of ways. This I am sure is not a comprehensive list but it is enough for me to review and be draw back to God with a deep sense of poverty of spirit.
For instance:
AM I A PROUD OR BROKEN PERSON?
Attitudes Toward Others
1. Proud people focus on the failures of others and can readily point out those faults Broken people are more conscious of their own spiritual need than of anyone else’s
2. Proud people have a critical, faultfinding spirit. They look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but view their own with a telescope Broken people are compassionate – they have the kind of love that overlooks a multitude of sins; they forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven
3. Proud people are especially prone to criticize those in positions of authority: their pastor, their boss, their spouse, their parents – and talk to others about the faults they see Broken people reverence, encourage, and lift up those that God has placed in positions of authority, and they talk to God in intercession, rather that gossiping about the faults they see in others
4. Proud people are self-righteous; they think highly of themselves and look down on others Broken people think the best of other; they esteem others as better than themselves.
5. Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for God and for others
Attitudes About Rights
6. Proud people have to prove that they are right – they have to get the last word Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right
7. Proud people claim rights and have a demanding spirit Broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit
8. Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation Broken people are self-denying and self-sacrificing
Attitudes About Service and Ministry
9. Proud people desire to be served – they want life to revolve around them and their own needs. Broken people are motivated to serve others and to be sure others’ needs are met before their own.
10. Proud people desire to be broken as a success Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others successful
11. Proud people have a feeling –conscious or unconscious – that “this ministry or organization is privileged to have me and my gifts”. They focus on what they can do for God Broken people have a heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives
Attitudes About Recognition
12. Proud people crave self-advancement Broken people desire to promote others
13. Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated for their efforts Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.
14. Proud people get wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked Broken people are eager for others to get the credit, and they rejoice when others are lifted up
15. Proud people are elated by praise and deflated by criticism Broken people know that any praise of their accomplishments belongs to the Lord and that criticism can help them grow into spiritual maturity
Attitudes About Themselves
16. Proud people feel confident in how much they know Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn
17. Proud people are self-conscious; they worry about what others think of them Broken people are not preoccupied with what others think of them
18. Proud people are concerned about appearing respectable; they are driven to protect their image and reputation Broken people are concerned about being real; they care less what others think about what God knows – they are willing to die to their own reputation
19. Proud people can’t bear to fail or for anyone to think they are less than perfect. This can drive them to extremes – workaholic tendencies, perfectionism, the tendency to drive others or to place unrealistic expectations on themselves or others Broken people can recognize and live within God-given limitations
Attitudes About Relationships
20. Proud people keep others at arm’s length Broken people are willing to take the risks of getting close to others and loving intimately
21. Proud people are quick to blame others Broken people accept responsibility and can acknowledge where they are wrong in a situation
22. Proud people wait for others to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or a breach in a relationship Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled, no matter how wrong the other party may have been.
23. Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when corrected Broken people receive correction with a humble, open spirit
24. Proud people find it difficult to discuss their spiritual needs with others Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs
25. Proud people try to control the people and circumstances around them – they are prone to manipulate Broken people trust in God – they rest in Him and are able to wait for Him to act on their behalf
26. Proud people become bitter and resentful when they are wronged; they have emotional temper tantrums; they hold others hostage and are easily offended; they carry grudges and keep a record of others’ wrongs. Broken people give thanks in all things; they are quick to forgive those who wrong them
Attitudes About Sin
27. Proud want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their tendency is to cover up. Broken people aren’t overly concerned with who knows or who finds out about their sin- they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.
28. Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?” Broken people are quick to admit their failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary
29. Proud people tend to deal in generalizations when confessing their sin to God (“Dear Lord, forgive me for all my sins…”) or (“I need to be a better Christian…”) Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin: “Lord, I agree with you that I love myself more than my mate; I confess that I am addicted to television; I’m a glutton; I am an angry parent…”
30. Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin. They are disturbed over the problems caused by their sin – for example, the financial bondage created by their overspending, or the problems in their marriage that have resulted from selfishness and immoral choices Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin. They are more concerned about how their sin has grieved and dishonored God than about the problems it has created in their lives.
31. Proud people are remorseful over their sin- sorry that they got caught or found out Broken people are truly repentant over their sin, and the evidences of their repentance are that they forsake the sin.
Attitudes About Their Walk with God
32. Proud people are blind to the true condition of their hearts Broken people walk in the light and acknowledge the truth about their sins
33. Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of respect Broken people compare themselves with the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy
34. Proud people don’t think they need to repent of anything Broken people realize that they need to maintain a continual heart of repentance.
35. Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure everyone else does. (In fact, right about now, they are making a mental list of the people they think need to read this book!) Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.
“True worship begins with brokenness and humility over whatever God reveals to us in His Word. Poverty of spirit and mourning over sin lead to genuine repentance, which in turn leads to forgiveness. Forgiveness will produce freedom – freedom from guilt and bondage. When we have freedom that has been birthed out of brokenness, repentance, and forgiveness, we will have a greater capacity for love – supernatural ability to love God and to love those that are unlovable- and for worship. And of course, true love and worship lead us back to a new level of brokenness, which leads to greater and deeper repentance, increased forgiveness, new founded freedom, and an ever greater capacity for love and worship.”
The study guide in the back was helpful for me to review and apply the points.
A wave of revival in the form of confession and repentance swept through the group for a number of days and lives were changed.
This book on brokenness and humility has changed the way I think about myself, my sin, and God's provision of Jesus' sacrifice.
She gives quite a list of the way that "Proud People" look at others, God, sin and so on. At least in my culture, looking at things the way I do, I come up pretty short. It is pretty revealing. I am a pretty proud person, in a lot of ways. This I am sure is not a comprehensive list but it is enough for me to review and be draw back to God with a deep sense of poverty of spirit.
For instance:
AM I A PROUD OR BROKEN PERSON?
Attitudes Toward Others
1. Proud people focus on the failures of others and can readily point out those faults Broken people are more conscious of their own spiritual need than of anyone else’s
2. Proud people have a critical, faultfinding spirit. They look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but view their own with a telescope Broken people are compassionate – they have the kind of love that overlooks a multitude of sins; they forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven
3. Proud people are especially prone to criticize those in positions of authority: their pastor, their boss, their spouse, their parents – and talk to others about the faults they see Broken people reverence, encourage, and lift up those that God has placed in positions of authority, and they talk to God in intercession, rather that gossiping about the faults they see in others
4. Proud people are self-righteous; they think highly of themselves and look down on others Broken people think the best of other; they esteem others as better than themselves.
5. Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for God and for others
Attitudes About Rights
6. Proud people have to prove that they are right – they have to get the last word Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right
7. Proud people claim rights and have a demanding spirit Broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit
8. Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation Broken people are self-denying and self-sacrificing
Attitudes About Service and Ministry
9. Proud people desire to be served – they want life to revolve around them and their own needs. Broken people are motivated to serve others and to be sure others’ needs are met before their own.
10. Proud people desire to be broken as a success Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others successful
11. Proud people have a feeling –conscious or unconscious – that “this ministry or organization is privileged to have me and my gifts”. They focus on what they can do for God Broken people have a heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives
Attitudes About Recognition
12. Proud people crave self-advancement Broken people desire to promote others
13. Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated for their efforts Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.
14. Proud people get wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked Broken people are eager for others to get the credit, and they rejoice when others are lifted up
15. Proud people are elated by praise and deflated by criticism Broken people know that any praise of their accomplishments belongs to the Lord and that criticism can help them grow into spiritual maturity
Attitudes About Themselves
16. Proud people feel confident in how much they know Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn
17. Proud people are self-conscious; they worry about what others think of them Broken people are not preoccupied with what others think of them
18. Proud people are concerned about appearing respectable; they are driven to protect their image and reputation Broken people are concerned about being real; they care less what others think about what God knows – they are willing to die to their own reputation
19. Proud people can’t bear to fail or for anyone to think they are less than perfect. This can drive them to extremes – workaholic tendencies, perfectionism, the tendency to drive others or to place unrealistic expectations on themselves or others Broken people can recognize and live within God-given limitations
Attitudes About Relationships
20. Proud people keep others at arm’s length Broken people are willing to take the risks of getting close to others and loving intimately
21. Proud people are quick to blame others Broken people accept responsibility and can acknowledge where they are wrong in a situation
22. Proud people wait for others to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or a breach in a relationship Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled, no matter how wrong the other party may have been.
23. Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when corrected Broken people receive correction with a humble, open spirit
24. Proud people find it difficult to discuss their spiritual needs with others Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs
25. Proud people try to control the people and circumstances around them – they are prone to manipulate Broken people trust in God – they rest in Him and are able to wait for Him to act on their behalf
26. Proud people become bitter and resentful when they are wronged; they have emotional temper tantrums; they hold others hostage and are easily offended; they carry grudges and keep a record of others’ wrongs. Broken people give thanks in all things; they are quick to forgive those who wrong them
Attitudes About Sin
27. Proud want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their tendency is to cover up. Broken people aren’t overly concerned with who knows or who finds out about their sin- they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.
28. Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?” Broken people are quick to admit their failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary
29. Proud people tend to deal in generalizations when confessing their sin to God (“Dear Lord, forgive me for all my sins…”) or (“I need to be a better Christian…”) Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin: “Lord, I agree with you that I love myself more than my mate; I confess that I am addicted to television; I’m a glutton; I am an angry parent…”
30. Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin. They are disturbed over the problems caused by their sin – for example, the financial bondage created by their overspending, or the problems in their marriage that have resulted from selfishness and immoral choices Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin. They are more concerned about how their sin has grieved and dishonored God than about the problems it has created in their lives.
31. Proud people are remorseful over their sin- sorry that they got caught or found out Broken people are truly repentant over their sin, and the evidences of their repentance are that they forsake the sin.
Attitudes About Their Walk with God
32. Proud people are blind to the true condition of their hearts Broken people walk in the light and acknowledge the truth about their sins
33. Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of respect Broken people compare themselves with the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy
34. Proud people don’t think they need to repent of anything Broken people realize that they need to maintain a continual heart of repentance.
35. Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure everyone else does. (In fact, right about now, they are making a mental list of the people they think need to read this book!) Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.
“True worship begins with brokenness and humility over whatever God reveals to us in His Word. Poverty of spirit and mourning over sin lead to genuine repentance, which in turn leads to forgiveness. Forgiveness will produce freedom – freedom from guilt and bondage. When we have freedom that has been birthed out of brokenness, repentance, and forgiveness, we will have a greater capacity for love – supernatural ability to love God and to love those that are unlovable- and for worship. And of course, true love and worship lead us back to a new level of brokenness, which leads to greater and deeper repentance, increased forgiveness, new founded freedom, and an ever greater capacity for love and worship.”
The study guide in the back was helpful for me to review and apply the points.
April 25, 2025
I never thought of brokenness as more of a strength than a weakness until I read this book. Nancy beautifully outlined a scriptural precedent for a broken and contrite heart. She revealed how brokeness is essential to personal holiness and revival. I absolutely loved this book. I recommend it to every single Christian woman I know and love.
"Broken people are the kinds of people God chooses to save, to bless, and to help."
We will never meet God in revival until we have first met Him in brokenness."
"-Brokenness is the stripping of self-reliance and independence from God. The broken person has no confidence in his own righteousness or his own works, but he is cast in total dependence upon the grace of God working in and through him."
"We can choose to be broken or we can wait for God to crush our pride. If we resist the means God provides to lead us to brokenness, we do not avoid brokenness—we simply make it necessary for God to intensify and prolong the process."
"Broken people are the kinds of people God chooses to save, to bless, and to help."
We will never meet God in revival until we have first met Him in brokenness."
"-Brokenness is the stripping of self-reliance and independence from God. The broken person has no confidence in his own righteousness or his own works, but he is cast in total dependence upon the grace of God working in and through him."
"We can choose to be broken or we can wait for God to crush our pride. If we resist the means God provides to lead us to brokenness, we do not avoid brokenness—we simply make it necessary for God to intensify and prolong the process."
June 25, 2024
Un libro corto pero muy profundo en cuanto a la importancia de ser quebrantado por la presencia de Dios.
Me gustaron muchos los argumentos de la autora y el énfasis que hizo sobre el proceso para ser quebrantado.
Sin duda necesitamos ser quebrantados para poder crecer espiritualmente.
Recomiendo este libro a todo cristiano que desee entender la importancia de ser humillado y quebrantado por la presencia de Dios.
Me gustaron muchos los argumentos de la autora y el énfasis que hizo sobre el proceso para ser quebrantado.
Sin duda necesitamos ser quebrantados para poder crecer espiritualmente.
Recomiendo este libro a todo cristiano que desee entender la importancia de ser humillado y quebrantado por la presencia de Dios.
July 10, 2025
This is such a good book! I think all Christians should read this so we can examine our lives to expose hidden pride. Nancy has a great comparison chapter of the humble man vs the prideful man! It’s very convicting!
Read
March 2, 2021Un excelente libro que pienso que todo creyente debería de leer al menos una vez al año para recordar que el Señor requiere nuestros corazones contritos y humillados a lo largo de nuestro caminar con El, este libro te ayuda a entenderlo gracias a la profundidad que siempre logra Nancy al tocar cada tema.
March 2, 2016
I really loved this book and I think it is much needed in the church. We live in a self-help culture that is constantly selling ideas on how to be happy or how to be made whole often leading people to look within themselves for answers. For the Christian, true joy and the peace of Christ come from being broken before God, that is being broken of your pride, arrogance, self-will and stubbornness. This book gives many examples of biblical figures who made mistakes doing things their way before submitting to God. Jesus said "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." (Matt.5:3) Translated: blessed are the completely spiritually destitute who realize they can do nothing on their own, but are completely dependent on Jesus (John 15:5). The book describes two ways of being broken, obedience to God's word or through trauma or circumstances that drive you to God. This book meant a lot to me because of my personal journey the last 7 years and I can testify that these were both true in my life.
This book has many great quotes. This is one of them speaking of the parable of the grain of wheat in John 12: "in the dark, cold, lonely place, the grain will shed its hard outer husk so that life within it may be released. Then after it has died, the first shoots of new life will spring forth...Our natural instinct is to hold on protectively to our own lives. When we refuse to shed that hard, outer shell called "self", no one can get close to us; no one can penetrate or enter into our life. Just as pride repulses God, so pride keeps others from getting close to us...We must be willing to die to our own self-interest, die to our own reputation, die to our own rights, die to our own ways of doing things, die to our own comforts, convenience, hopes, dreams and aspirations." I chose this quote because I have recorded in my journal a lot over the past year how God was calling me to have my Abraham-Isaac moments in which He wanted everything on the altar. Some things have been given back to me, some things were killed, some things await a decision and some things may or may not be resurrected. But the book validated my experience with good biblical examples which I found encouraging.
The book also provides a check list to gauge your heart and attitude to see if you are prideful or broken towards people, sin, relationships, self and God. I found the checklist and descriptions of each helpful. I was honest in seeing where God was making my more like Jesus (Romans 8:29) and areas where my sin and pride still prevail being reminded that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
I highly recommend this book, however I can see that if I had read it in the past, I may not have gotten much out of it without my experience of brokenness. I think the call to brokenness through obedience is a much harder path than through trauma because I likely would have given intellectual consent while my pride and arrogance stayed in tact. I can see how in the past, many Christians thought of me as a godly man and a church leader without knowing my heart. I can honestly say I never want to be that man again. That might sound odd, but this book explains the process by which I arrived where God has me today.
This book has many great quotes. This is one of them speaking of the parable of the grain of wheat in John 12: "in the dark, cold, lonely place, the grain will shed its hard outer husk so that life within it may be released. Then after it has died, the first shoots of new life will spring forth...Our natural instinct is to hold on protectively to our own lives. When we refuse to shed that hard, outer shell called "self", no one can get close to us; no one can penetrate or enter into our life. Just as pride repulses God, so pride keeps others from getting close to us...We must be willing to die to our own self-interest, die to our own reputation, die to our own rights, die to our own ways of doing things, die to our own comforts, convenience, hopes, dreams and aspirations." I chose this quote because I have recorded in my journal a lot over the past year how God was calling me to have my Abraham-Isaac moments in which He wanted everything on the altar. Some things have been given back to me, some things were killed, some things await a decision and some things may or may not be resurrected. But the book validated my experience with good biblical examples which I found encouraging.
The book also provides a check list to gauge your heart and attitude to see if you are prideful or broken towards people, sin, relationships, self and God. I found the checklist and descriptions of each helpful. I was honest in seeing where God was making my more like Jesus (Romans 8:29) and areas where my sin and pride still prevail being reminded that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.
I highly recommend this book, however I can see that if I had read it in the past, I may not have gotten much out of it without my experience of brokenness. I think the call to brokenness through obedience is a much harder path than through trauma because I likely would have given intellectual consent while my pride and arrogance stayed in tact. I can see how in the past, many Christians thought of me as a godly man and a church leader without knowing my heart. I can honestly say I never want to be that man again. That might sound odd, but this book explains the process by which I arrived where God has me today.
Read
September 8, 2020Originally I gave this title 5 stars. I am revising my stars to zero.
The reason I am doing so is that since reading this title, several things about my faith journey and expression have changed and I no longer subscribe to evangelical ideologies.
Additionally, DeMoss is a proponent and enabler of patriarchal culture and I just can't respect that.
-----------------------------------------
DeMoss does a masterful job of unpacking the way to go up is be broken down. Want to succeed in any relationship? Be broken. Want to succeed in your work life? Be broken. Humility, hard to live out, is the most effective character trait one can have to succeed in this life. But brokenness is so hard, DeMoss isn't naive to that fact.
In her honest look at brokenness DeMoss shares personal stories of the healing and freedom that comes when a person can walk in life with humility and without entitlements, pride, etc.
This is a powerful read that covers a vital component of a believer's life. It should be read, absorbed, and then put into practice. It would change the dynamic of so many relationships if more people walked in humility.
The reason I am doing so is that since reading this title, several things about my faith journey and expression have changed and I no longer subscribe to evangelical ideologies.
Additionally, DeMoss is a proponent and enabler of patriarchal culture and I just can't respect that.
-----------------------------------------
DeMoss does a masterful job of unpacking the way to go up is be broken down. Want to succeed in any relationship? Be broken. Want to succeed in your work life? Be broken. Humility, hard to live out, is the most effective character trait one can have to succeed in this life. But brokenness is so hard, DeMoss isn't naive to that fact.
In her honest look at brokenness DeMoss shares personal stories of the healing and freedom that comes when a person can walk in life with humility and without entitlements, pride, etc.
This is a powerful read that covers a vital component of a believer's life. It should be read, absorbed, and then put into practice. It would change the dynamic of so many relationships if more people walked in humility.
August 1, 2013
This book made me rethink what I believed about brokenness and how it comes about in my life. After experiencing a time of great brokenness and growth about a decade ago, I almost longed for it again during a spiritually dry season years later. I was scared of the pain, but it seemed worth it in order to experience that kind of growth and closeness with God again. This book has broadened my view of brokenness and helped me to see that I can choose a posture of brokenness in my daily life and receive the blessings and closeness that come from that choice; I don't need to wait for painful circumstances. And when painful circumstances do arise, I can choose to see them as opportunities for growth.
October 8, 2009
Amazing way to look at Brokenness in your Christian walk. It's a lifestyle. A continual process that should happen 24/7. There were several things that stuck out in my mind as i was reading this short book. But the main thing was a quote form Martin Luther, " God creates out of nothing. Therefore until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him." This in a nut shell is the essence of the whole book! You have to become nothing for God to use you completely to His utter satisfaction. Our view of Brokenness gets shattered with the way she explains it. It doesn't have to be sad and depressing. You can have joy in true Brokenness.
February 8, 2022
This book wasn't quite what I expected, but in a good way. It starts with this lovely quote "It's a wonder what God can do with a broken heart, if [you give Him] all the broken pieces" (Samuel Chadwick).
So I guess I kind of expected that the "brokeness" referred to in the title had something to do with heartbreak. I hesitated reading it for a long time, because reading about heartbreak isn't easy or fun. But it wasn't about the kind of heartbreak that comes from great loss, but the brokenness of realizing our sins, the brokenness of humility.
A powerful event occurred at a Campus Crusade conference that the author spoke at (in the 1990's). After speaking on brokenness over sin, many people started publicly confessing their sins. Such was the need for confession that all other events during this conference were cancelled to give people more time. This account of Jordan's confession struck me most:
Some other things that really struck me from this book:
~
~
~
So I guess I kind of expected that the "brokeness" referred to in the title had something to do with heartbreak. I hesitated reading it for a long time, because reading about heartbreak isn't easy or fun. But it wasn't about the kind of heartbreak that comes from great loss, but the brokenness of realizing our sins, the brokenness of humility.
A powerful event occurred at a Campus Crusade conference that the author spoke at (in the 1990's). After speaking on brokenness over sin, many people started publicly confessing their sins. Such was the need for confession that all other events during this conference were cancelled to give people more time. This account of Jordan's confession struck me most:
The next day, God gave Jordan he courage to humble himself before the staff and leadership of Campus Crusade, as he read that entire letter [his confession to God] publicly and asked for their forgiveness. Jordan's letter was no superficial confession. He made no attempt to whitewash his sins but brought them out into the light. With his wife standing at his side, he confessed a whole list of specific sins which God had convicted him: impure motives, a desire for recognition, comparison, caring more abut projects and tasks than people, a critical, judgmental spirit, keeping people at arm's length, and a spirit of jealousy and envy....
"Although I received Christ as a high school student, these addictions followed me into my adult life... I battle each of these still. I desire victory. I confess each area as sin. Whatever things happened to put these addictions in place don't matter - I'm an adult now and assume full responsibility for their ongoing pull and presence in my life. I also confess to you and the Lord that I have been loving the world and the things of the world more than Him. I have not been experienceing the joy of a close, intimate relatioship with God. As a result, my heart has had an emptimness that bass fishing, jazz, chess, and computers simply cannot fill. I want these things to change. I want repentance. I want brokenness."
Some other things that really struck me from this book:
Years ago, when I was a college student, I heard Pastor Ray Ortlund say, "most churches are like a bag of marbles - all hard and clanging up agianst one another. Instead, we ought to be like a bag of grapes - squished together so that juice of His Spirit may flow out through us." True Christian community is somethng few believers ever experience, because it requires that each individual let go of "self" and our out his life on behalf of others.
~
A small band of church believers prayed earnestly for revival in thier community. They were gathered in a small town on the isle of Lewis, the larges isle of the Outer Hebrides, just off the coast of Scotland. These believers were particiularly burdned for the young people of the island who had no interest in spritual matters and scorned the things of God. For 18 months these men met, three nights a week, praying through the night, right on through the early hours of the morning, beseeeching God to come and visit in revival. For 18 months there was no evidence of any change. Then one night, a young deacon rose to his feet, opened his Bible, and read from Psalm 24: "Who may ascend into His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart... He shall receive blessing from the Lord." Facing the men around him, this young man said, "Brethren, it seems to me to be just so much humbug to be waiting and praying as we are, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God." There in the straw, the men knelt and humbly confessed their own sins to the Lord. Within a short peridod of time, God had begun to pour out his Spirit in an extraordinary awakening that shook the entire island.
~
Job was a righteous man, he feared God and lived a blameless life. For reasons known only to God, Job became a bit player in a cosmic drama, acted out beween heaven and hell. When he could not fathom God's purposes for the excruciating pain he was foreced to endure, and when his so-called friends wrongly assumed that he was being punished for some failture on his part, Job began to reveal a self-righteous heart. In extended dialogue and debate, Job protested his innocence and begged for the opportunity to defend himself in the courtroom of heaven. Finally God stepped in - as if he had been waiting for someone to give Him a chance to speak. Through a series of questions that neither Job nor his friends could possibly answer, God revealed Himself in a way that Job had never experienced. God unveiled His greatness, His infinite power, His superior wisdom, His mightly acts and His unfathomable ways.
When God finished, Job could hardly breathe. He had been stopped dead in his tracks: "Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth... I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repend in dust and ashes."
Job had been a good man - his lifestyle was above reproach and his suffering was not directly cuased by his sin. Suffering did, however, serve to lift the lid off his heart and expose a deeper level of depravity than he might have otherwise seen. As a result of his encounter with God, Job was not only a good man and a religious man; now he was a broken man.
The prophet Isaiah had a similar experience. In the early chapters of Isaiah, we saw this great servant of God pronouncing woes on the apostate nation of Israel - woe to those who are materialistic; woe to those who relativistic; woe to those who are hedonistic; woe to those who are sensual and immoral. And he was right. These were terrible blots on the nation, even as they are in our world today. Then we come to chapter 6, where Isaiah encounters God in a way he has never seen Him before. The prophet is struck with a vision of the holiness of God - holiness so intense that even the pillars in the temple had the good sense to tremble. Isaiah no longer sees himself in contrast to all the depraved people around him. Now he sees himself in the light of the holy, high, supreme God of the universe. And what are the first words out of his mouth? No longer is it "Woe to them." Now it is "Woe is me!"
....Isaiah had been a good man; he was gifted and committed to God. But in chapter 6, Isaiah came to true brokenness. From then on, he operated not out of natural strength or superiority but out of an intense sense of his own neediness.
~
The fact is, we will all be broken - sooner or later. We can choose to be broken or we can wait for God to crush our pride (Luke 20:18 Who ever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomeever it falls, it will grind him to powder.)
May 24, 2011
Now one of my top 5 books I have read this year, I plan on reading this at least once a year. I have a few chosen books that I pick out to "refresh" upon, and this small but powerful book will for sure help in your walk and keeping you grounded with Christ. Learn about what true "Brokenness" is and how to have a personal Revival in your life through saying No to "self" and Yes to Jesus! I Highly recommend this book!
May 26, 2012
A friend recommended this. DeMoss offers an emotional plea for brokenness build around her revival theology. Like much most revivalist writings, the American revivals are wrapped in so much nestalgia and the experiences of that period are lifted up to a biblical norm. Its as if the vast majority of Christians today need more than simply Jesus and their local church. They also need revival, which is usually defined in vague terms.
September 2, 2009
Very powerful, indeed!!!! :)
As Nancy Leigh DeMoss poignantly conveys...
Brokenness is the entrance to life, freedom
happiness and true joy!
"The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise."
-Psalm 51:17
A short stimulating, powerful and
life changing read!!
As Nancy Leigh DeMoss poignantly conveys...
Brokenness is the entrance to life, freedom
happiness and true joy!
"The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise."
-Psalm 51:17
A short stimulating, powerful and
life changing read!!
February 22, 2013
DeMoss does a good job of communicating how brokenness is manifested in a believer's life. I enjoyed the read, although at times I believe she could have dug a little deeper. Much of her content seemed to be a watered down version of "The Calvary Road" by Roy Hession. I recommend this book, but Hession's book on the same topic would prove more useful.
September 29, 2013
Excellent devotional on Brokenness.
I love how Nancy Leigh DeMoss brings new insight to Biblical stories that I have heard countless times, and gives personal testimony from others who have been brought to a point of brokenness in their own lives, and how this has transformed them.
Highly recommend.
I love how Nancy Leigh DeMoss brings new insight to Biblical stories that I have heard countless times, and gives personal testimony from others who have been brought to a point of brokenness in their own lives, and how this has transformed them.
Highly recommend.
February 15, 2014
Another great book by DeMoss!! I've read some other titles of her and learnt many things about womanhood. I hope I'd read this book earlier. Strongly rooted in biblical foundation and straightforward were probably what made me continue to read this book. It has forced me to deal with every pitfall in my life that I can find and move towards another step closer to God.
September 4, 2014
this is a good book. really targets the heart and compares the proud christian (pharisee) vs the broken christian. one of those books that really makes us realize no matter how "better" we might think we compare to others, how yucky we truly are deep inside and it makes us face those icky areas of our hearts. i cried in this book.
December 31, 2019
I didn't want to read this small book, but was glad I finally did. In spite of a little bit of "tooting her own horn" in the beginning pages which are filled with stories of how her teaching has changed the hearts of many, (which she denies, but it still comes across like that) I found the author's message compelling and needed.
May 9, 2012
This little book will totally transform what you thought it meant to be broken. As I once heard a preacher say, "If that don't light your fire, your wood is wet!" Buy it! Read it! You won't regret it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews