broken_hearted

Binding Up the Broken Hearted
by Randall D. Kittle

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bind up the brokenhearted.” — Isaiah 61:1

When I was a little boy, I used to love Valentine’s Day. With great care, I looked through all the packages of valentines to pick out just the right ones to give my friends and classmates. My mom and I would then spend so much time planning, making, and decorating the box I would take to school to receive valentines. And, of course, there was all the valentine candy! Growing up, there wasn’t much not to like about Valentine’s Day!

Over the years, I’ve come to see there’s another side to this holiday. While many friends, families, and couples will celebrate their relationships this Valentine’s Day, others will have a different experience. Valentine’s Day has a funny way of reminding people of the relational happiness they don’t have. Instead of enjoying a heart full of love, far too many people will be tending to an empty, aching, broken heart.

I think of my mother, who will celebrate her first Valentine’s Day in nearly seventy years without my Dad. Instead, she’ll be reminded of the emptiness and loss she is still trying to get through. Other’s face this day wondering why they’re still alone after all these years or why their spouse chose to abandon them. Still others wonder how they’ll ever make it through a life-threatening illness they face or if they will ever see their wayward child again. Almost everybody has had their heart broken in some way — maybe by disappointment, fear, shame, rejection, or ridicule.

Heartbreak hurts. If you’ve ever had a broken heart, you understand why it’s called that. Heartbreak feels like your heart has been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. While you might try to wear a smile for others during the day, you find yourself lying in bed, tears streaming down your face, and the weight of the hurt pressing heavily on your chest. You feel completely alone … and wonder if you will ever make it to the other side of the pain and feel whole again.

Father of the Broken Hearted
As hard as these situations are, we can find comfort in God for He understands how we feel. The first heartbreak of all time was in the Garden of Eden when Father God’s heart was broken over Adam and Eve choosing defiance and disobedience over His loving care. How well the words of the prophet Jeremiah express the brokenness of God’s heart for all who turn away from Him, “I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following Me” (Jeremiah 3:19). God created us to have a personal relationship with Him, and He loves each of us more than we can possibly imagine. When we choose to love and pursue other things instead of Him, it breaks His heart, for He longs for us to be His friends and family.

It’s no wonder God cares so much for the brokenhearted among us. At your greatest time of need, when you feel the most alone, Father God will draw close to you. The Bible says in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” When our hearts are broken in pieces, He is very near to bring comfort and healing. God hurts with you. What was God doing when you were weeping? He was weeping as well. With a tenderness that can only come from the Father, He wants to love us back to life and wholeness.

So, if you have been bruised and broken, be encouraged and know that your Father is near and promises to heal your heart and make you whole! The psalmist declares of God, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalms 147:3). The Lord reassures us that He will heal the heartbreak that we can’t seem to get beyond. The Lord is inviting us to find healing, hope, and new life in Him. All you have to do is open your heart to God and give Him 100% of your heart. Let Him take your broken heart and make it new.