Don’t you love sunny days, those moments when life is just right, when love flourishes, when you wake up eager for the new day? With thanksgiving, I can say I have known many days like that, a life blessed by the goodness of God. Now for the rest of the story … Sadness, grief, and loss will come to each of us in different ways in life. Someone we once loved dearly will grow distant. Sickness will bring pain. Age will diminish our strength. Death will take a spouse or child.
The question I ask today is this – what will we do with a broken heart?
Some become the victims of bitterness, turning inward, nursing their wounded emotions, stuck in the mire of sadness.
Some seek to bury their disappointment or sorrow by making life a party, an endless chase after happiness.
Some tragically try to numb the pain. Alcohol, drugs, and sex can temporarily give relief to a broken heart, but when the haze clears or the lover leaves, the sadness returns.
Some turn to hard work or the pursuit of awards hoping for comfort, which is, once again, only temporary until they must try to climb the next mountain.
Christian, there is a better way, a path to true healing found in the promises of God. It is not as quick to provide relief, it is not an easy road, but it will lead to the discovery of life beyond the brokenness! It may sound like a cliché to say, ‘take it to the Lord in prayer!’ He does not ask that we are eloquent, nor does He demand carefully crafted prayers. He simply says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”
In the stories of David, we find this tragedy. “When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So, David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. … David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.” (1 Samuel 30) When his life was in wreckage, his family and wealth gone, and his own friends were ready to kill him, David prayed!
Have you read the prayers of David found in the Psalms? He does not tiptoe into some holy place and whisper platitudes. He sobs, he rages, he praises, he curses … and he finds the faithfulness of God. “I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; Lord, do not delay.” (Psalm 70)
Our God, my friend, is close to the broken. The tears that we shed in the darkness are seen by Him and, if we wait for His relief, there will be healing and renewal, hope that comes like the dawn of the day, quietly creeping over us. But we must allow Him to comfort, be willing to accept the change, and let go of our demand for life as it once way.
In addition to prayer, we will find God’s healing in the reading of His Word. “And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15)
Learn to meditate on the Scripture. Read the Psalms, the Gospels, even the Lamentations of the Old Testament. We learn there that the depth of the human experience of sorrow is met with the eternal promise of God’s hope and salvation!
Broken-hearted today? Finding the way forward difficult, seemingly impossible?
Sit with God, the Spirit, in prayer.
Meditate on His Word.
Let the love of Jesus hold you close.
Here is the word from the Word – (Psalm 40)
“I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and
gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.”
________
