I remember very clearly a wise man told me long time ago that he said in a given congregation,

there are basically three groups of people.

There is one third roughly of a congregation, any congregation, who are really going through

brokenness and going through tough times and going through difficulties.

There is the other third who had just came out of tough times and going through difficulties. There is the other third who had just

came out of tough times and difficulties and testing times. But then there is the third third

that's about to get into tough times. Now, I don't wish that to anybody, but take note. If you're

not going through it now, you may be, and therefore this message

is also for you. In other words, what I'm going to say today, from this part of the series of

messages, portrait of grace from the life of Jacob, it is relevant to every one of us, to every

single person, whether you are going through

brokenness now, whether you're coming out of brokenness, whether you're about to get into

brokenness.

And if you read any of my books, and particularly if God is in control, you would know that

I am no stranger to brokenness, that I'm no stranger to being in the desert alone with God,

not knowing which way to turn physically, literally in countries where I knew nobody.

And God met me in my Bethel.

And I want to tell you something, knowing what I know now, I realize why one of my favorite verses in the

scripture is Psalm 5117, that a broken and contrite heart God will not despise, because I have

seen it. I have experienced it. So hundreds of you would testify to the same thing.

But as I look back at those tough times in my life, those testing times, those times when

I'm alone with God, nobody else in the world probably knew where I am at a given moment.

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