Broken Hearts and How to Heal

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.
Psalm 147:3 NLT

In this world, Jesus said we shall have trials and tribulations. 

Life experiences that break our hearts. Sometimes, we feel like we can't recover from our brokenheartedness. It feels like it is one too many times; that we won't recover. 

I'm here to say to you, if that's you, you're believing a lie! It may feel true, but it's not the Truth. The Truth is our promise for today - It is written, Psalm 147:3, He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. 

I have had my heart shattered more times than I care to remember, and sometimes, it feels as though I can't get over it. A few times have taken me years. Sometimes, healing from serious wounds takes a long time. There's therapy to endure, a battle to be won, but we are embraced by the Great Physician who came to heal our broken hearts and to bind up our wounds. 

The Passion Translation reads, He heals the wounds of every shattered heart. 

So let it be written, so let it be done.

Prayer:

Father,
          We pray Your Word from Psalm 30 - O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord. You kept me from falling into the pit of death. We will sing to You, and praise Your Holy Name. Your anger lasts only a moment, but Your favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. And we are so grateful, Father! In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Free

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV

How many times have you read this portion of Scripture and held on to it for dear life - or used it when ministering to someone who was heartbroken? Have you ever wondered if God really understood the depth of your broken heart? I'm not trying to be fractious or facetious. I've had people express that very question to me.

Let me assure you, He knows.

There are some horrible, deplorable, gut-wrenching events that take place in the lives of those around us and in our own lives. Some we know about. Some we don't... not until much later. Some we read about and throw a prayer heaven-ward, but are we actually touched with the feeling of their situation? For instance, when was the last time we thought about and fervently prayed for the many posts of missing children or the prayer requests on Facebook alone? Do we just post a praying hands emoji or do we actually pray? Scripture tells us Jesus is touched with the feeling of our situations.

If we do even just a little study on the word thrauo - which is the Greek word interpreted as 'oppressed', we will find that it means to break, break in pieces, shatter, smite through. If we go to the original reference (Isaiah 61:1), we find that the Hebrew word definition translates to break, break in or down, break in pieces, rend violently, wreck, crush, quench, rupture (figuratively), to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked, to shatter...  If we put that in our Promise for Today, I'd say that pretty well covers it, wouldn't you?

Anything that crushes or shatters our life tends to create a prison of our own making. It is from THAT prison Christ came to set us free. Free to be who God created us to be. Free to free others from the chains of their souls, no matter where they may be.

Truly free.

Prayer:

Father,
            Continue to illuminate Your Word so that we understand and are able to walk in the freedom that You alone can and have provided for us. And as we grasp the Truth of Your Word, help us to give the keys to those around us who need a way out of the prison of their souls. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Broken

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isaiah 61:1

Life is hard, but life is also good, in spite of the hard times. That being said, I'm so tired of seeing the brokenhearted emoticon listed as one of my most-used favorites!! 

I know that we just talked about God's grace and how it abounds to us when we are surrounded by the enemy of our souls. However, today, I want to dig a little deeper in Hebrews 4:16, where we find grace to help [boētheia] in time of need. I am SO grateful to God that we have His Word to turn to in such times. 

His Word that declares we are to emulate Him, so we are to bind up the brokenhearted. His Word that declares in Hebrews 4:16, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help [boētheia] in time of need.  This past week,  I learned that help in this verse comes from the word boētheia, which means to Frap. To Frap is a nautical term that means tying a rope-like material around the bow of the boat or ship, to hold it together, reinforcing it.  

Let's face it - To be broken is to be in pieces. Life can do that to us sometimes. Death of a loved one, loss of a home or a job. Broken. The Good News is in our Promise for Today - God sent Jesus to bind up the brokenhearted. Next...

Prayer:

Father,

          Please take all of our broken pieces and put them together again. We want to grow and develop into what You would have us to be, according to what You have planned and purposed for our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.