What to Do When You Have a Broken Heart
A broken heart …
Have you ever had one?
It seems that so many things have the power to disappoint … to discourage … or to confuse … but that’s not exactly what I am talking about.
I am referring to something so much more ravaging than a broken fingernail, a lost job promotion or an unexpected bill in the mail.
Have you ever had your heart truly broken?
In pieces? Shattered beyond recognition?
Have you ever wondered if your heart would eventually have the strength to beat again?
A broken heart …
Some people possess hearts that are more fragile than others. Some folks are the owners of hearts that are made of that nearly indestructible stuff that is not easily destroyed or fractured.
There are some hearts, however, that are, indeed, delicate and are able to be shredded at the smallest possible jarring.
And honestly, some of us have allowed our hearts to be broken by that which should have no demolition power at all in our lives. There have been moments in my life when I have needed to repent over the petty, miniscule events and circumstances that I have allowed to mangle my formerly healthy heart.
If I allow mere inconveniences to break my heart, I will never have the vibrant capacity to walk in God’s destiny and desire for my one-in-a-million life.
However, there are experiences and people that will indeed break one’s heart this side of heaven.
Serious illness … childhood rejection … unkind and undeserved words … early or sudden death … infertility … abuse … divorce … addictions …
What has broken your heart?
If you have a broken heart, there is nothing of which to be ashamed.
I actually believe that when the throbbing abates a bit, a broken heart can actually be your finest hour.
Why in the world would I believe that? I believe that your broken heart has the potential of becoming your finest hour because of something that the Bible says …
The Bible tells us an extraordinary detail about what comes with a broken heart.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
Isn’t that an amazing piece of truth?!
If your heart has been broken due to horrific human pain, the Lord is hovering close to you. He has not left you to deal with the trauma or injury alone. He is beside you, tending to you, gently caring for you in the most painful and devastating moment of your life!
God knew that there would be things, events and people this side of heaven that would have the ability to shatter a human heart and so He had a healing answer for those grim experiences.
The answer is Him!
The answer is always Him!
The answer has always been Him!
The answer will always BE Him!
He is our Healer –emotionally, spiritually and physically!
The mistake that many broken-hearted people make is that they run away from the Father rather than toward Him in their moment of deep and excruciating pain.
Many people whose hearts have been crushed by catastrophe or by hardship build walls between themselves and the loving Father.
If your heart has been broken, snuggle into His presence and stay there until the healing begins.
Read the sacred pages of the Psalms and allow the powerful Words of Life to do open heart surgery on you!
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” – Psalm 147:3
Allow the Father to do what He does best … allow Him to be your Healer.
Chocolate won’t heal you … shopping has no intrinsic healing power … bitterness will only increase the pain.
People, as wonderful as they are, can only lead you toward or away from the Great Physician.
People don’t heal … Jesus heals!
It is His presence that will restore your ruptured and pounding heart.
Lift your hands in worship and sing to Him even in the midst of unremitting and appalling misery.
It’s o.k. to cry … just keep your hands in the air while you cry.
It’s o.k. to weep … just worship while you weep.
It’s o.k. to mourn … just sing a melody to the Father while the tears roll down your cheeks.
Worship doesn’t stuff your pain … it heals your pain. Worship doesn’t ignore emotional brokenness … it soothes human brokenness. Worship doesn’t numb internal bleeding … it regenerates and repairs the damage that has been done.
“Of one thing I am perfectly sure: God’s story never ends with ashes.” – Elisabeth Elliot
God is intimately close to a person who is dealing with the awful and consuming reality of a broken heart. But, He doesn’t want you to stay in that place of ashes and pain.
He longs to heal you so that He can use you. He wants to mend you so that you can mend others. He wants to restore your heart so that it can beat in sync with His heart of compassion.
A broken heart may be part of your story but it is not the end of your story. Allow Him to embrace your brokenness so that He can fill you with all that He is and all that He has.
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!
