I remember the exact moment when my spirit was crushed. That moment changed the course of my life forever. You don't forget those moments. If you have ever experienced your spirit being crushed, you know what this means and how it feels. It’s more than a moment when you’re feelings are hurt or something doesn’t go your way. This event breaks the most deepest part of you. It is a moment when you have reached the end of yourself. It is a time when you make decisions that change your life.
Psalms 34:18 says that "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
You certainly need him during those times because when your spirit is broken you have two decisions to make - you either get bitter or you get better. These are moments you make life altering choices. It's good that God is close to us during those times to help us to become a better version of ourselves.
There was a movie in the theaters when I was recovering from my crushed spirit and making changes in my life. The movie was Robin Hood. In the movie, one of Robin Hood's mentor made this statement to him: "it's time to be who you are." This made me realize that I had spent my life up until that point being the person everyone else wanted or expected me to be and I wasn't happy. I was living a life of expectations and it was a very frustrating life. It was time for me to evolve into a new man.
When you are crushed in spirit and you decide to make life choices to change, it won't be an easy path. You have to burn some bridges. I know none of us like to burn bridges or think of our own happiness ahead of everything else but when you make these choices they may seem hard at the time but later you realize they were the best choices. Yes, you have to be selfish and think about yourself. Looking out for yourself isn't a bad thing when you during these times.
You have to ask yourself - am I going to be happy or am I going to stay in this crappy life?
When you make changes in your life, it won't be all spiritual and aligned in a perfect timeline. Having done this, I can tell you is that you stay the course and take one day at a time. I know that sounds cliche but it works. You can't live weeks or years of "what-ifs" down the road. When you shake off the broken pieces of your crushed spirit, you can come out of the other side in a better place. That is what happened to me.
The most important piece of advice I can give you about recovering from a crushed spirit is to do whatever you can to stay close to God and keep talking to Him. That verse in Psalms says God will be close to us but we also have to stay close to Him too. Just bare your soul to Him about you life. Let him know the good, the bad and the ugly. He's not going to appear before you telling you what choices to make but you'll make better choices when you are at peace with Him.
I won't lie to you - it won't be all spiritual and holy times and I don't want to make it sound like it will be a smooth spiritual experience. It won't. You have to stay the course. Do you want to live happy or live crappy? You have to make that decision. Will you allow your crushed spirit to crush you or change you?
It's over 12 years and I'm in a much better place. I'm glad to be on this side of it now. You can make it. You can become better and your life can be better than it was before. I'm not the same person but I am definitely a better person because of the choices I made.
God says to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because He will go wherever you go. (Jeremiah 1:9)
You can recover from a crushed spirit. It takes time and a determination to turn the crushed spirit into a new you.
