The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
—Psalm 51:17

Don't you love King David? His life is like a diamond that expresses different beautiful facets every time you turn it. In the Old Testament, he walks under God's anointing as prophet, priest, and king. He is a reconciler and the restorer of the divided kingdom.

Yet in the prime of David's reign as king, he sinned by taking a census of Israel (1 Chronicles 21). David allowed fear and pride to erode his trust in God, and he was now depending upon the masses for protection. As a consequence, three days of judgment followed.

But with a devastating pestilence on Israel, God stopped the judgment. He told David to go to the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite and to build Him an altar. David did, and in the midst of his brokenness, he called upon the Lord. The Lord answered David, and fire fell on the altar and the judgment ceased.

David was left sitting at the threshingfloor with nothing remaining but the ashes. Thousands were dead. It was all his fault. His world was broken.

So what can God do with ashes and brokenness? Look what He did for David. "Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD...in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite" (2 Chronicles 3:1). Years later, on those very ashes, Solomon built the greatest temple ever erected. Underneath all the splendor of the temple—the cedar, the gold, the detailed workmanship, and all the wealth—and the Shekinah glory that filled the temple were David's ashes of disappointment, despair, and grief.

Not only did God not reject David in his brokenness, but we find that a broken and contrite spirit is really the place of beauty in our lives. It is like when the woman with the alabaster box of spikenard broke the box and poured the precious ointment on the head of Jesus (Mark 14:3)—the true fragrance of worship came forth. It's not so much that God is trying to break you down as it is that place of dependency and understanding. Out of what looks like ashes, God builds greatness.

So you may call your brokenness ashes. But God's glory will come forth out of it. It is through your brokenness that He can perform His finest work. When you come to God and offer Him your broken world, you will soon discover that He is the God of restoration. He is the God of resurrection. He can breathe new life into your dreams and destiny.