Are you crying? Is your heart broken?
I do not like to spend time talking about sorrow. It is not
my way to ‘moan’ my prayers or to rehearse my disappointments, and yet I
know that our days include many things that cause pain, that we walk through
seasons of terrible grief. Yes, I have known a broken heart and my life as a
pastor has led me close to the tears of many.
When tears flow and my heart is crushed, I bring this Word
to mind: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who
are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18, NIV)
John’s Gospel lets us see the heart of Jesus. His friend,
Lazarus, died and when Jesus went to Bethany, Mary and Martha, both accused Him
of being uncaring, for not showing up when they called on Him. Their words are full
of both grief and anger - “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not
have died.” And how did the perfect
Man respond? Not with defensiveness nor by pulling away from them. John tells
us simply that “Jesus wept." (John 11:35, NIV) We have
the advantage of knowing ‘the rest of the story’ and see that Jesus was displaying
His authority even over death itself when He raised Lazarus from the dead. But
it moves me to know that He entered into the grief of those sisters letting His
heart be broken with theirs.
My friend, He knows your sorrow. He knows the sting of
rejection. He knows the disappointment of being misjudged and/or falsely
accused. He knows the pain that comes with suffering in the body. Isaiah, that
that majestic 53rd chapter, reminds us that "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows,
acquainted with bitterest grief ..., it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows
that weighed him down.” The prophet
goes on to tell us that from His willingness to endure that grief came our
salvation, our healing, our hope of restoration to our Father.
My friend, your broken heart can be the means that God uses
to turn you to Himself or a way that He makes you aware of the need to lean on
Him with true faith. “If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes
to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart.” (Oswald Chambers)
From experience I know that suffering can break us from self-reliance, from pride
making us grace-filled, tender hearted, focused more clearly on eternity.
Not long after I walked with Bev through months of awful
sorrow and pain and then lived with the crushing grief of her death, someone told
me - “You are a much better Pastor these days. You know how we feel when we are
sad.” I am not just trying to find a silver lining in those dark clouds! While I
still wish my lovely wife walked by my side, it is clear that the sorrow of that
loss has made a true difference in me.
Are you dealing with a broken heart? Be willing to let God do
His work. The natural desire is to find some diversion, some way to avoid
sorrow. Instead, let yourself feel the suffering and enter into it with Christ
at your side. Don’t try to numb your soul by turning up the noise or burying
yourself in pleasure. Those things offer no balm for the soul.
No, we need not wallow in self-pity, nor must we live
with a long face! But, there are times when we do well to quietly wait on God. There
can be healing when we allow our tears flow. Be gentle with those who try to
rush you from the process of grief offering well-meant platitudes and clichéd
words of ‘comfort.’ Perhaps they have
never hurt in the way that you do but they mean well.
Do not forget to ask the Holy Spirit to protect you from
becoming a cynic, seeing only the worst, the awful, and the failures of others.
Descending into that way of life does not heal or help. It just makes a person
one who is self-absorbed and mean!
Finally, I want to tell you, with the words of David that “weeping
may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) Truly God is the healer of broken
hearts. Our ultimate hope rests on the promise of an eternal home.
The word from the Word is a shout of triumph from John, the
apostle who had known great sorrows. The Spirit inspired him to assure us of
this -
"I heard a loud shout
from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He
will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with
them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or
sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.” And the one
sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making all things new!” (Revelation 21:3-5, NLT)
Hold on! Let sorrow do the work it must and, by faith, let
Jesus walk through the darkness with you. Then, receive the joy that comes with
the morning.
Amen.
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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55
