HELP AND HEALING FOR THE BROKENHEARTED

“GOD CAN HEAL YOUR BROKEN HEART”

“Heartbroken – extremely sad and upset”

www.macmillandictionary.com

“Heartbroken – overcome by sorrow”

www.merriam-webster.com

Are you extremely sad, upset, or overcome with sorrow because of a negative experience or bad situation?

I can’t believe they let me go just like that. I worked 30 years for this company. I gave it the best years of my life. I worked hard and went above and beyond the call of duty, working late into the evenings, and on many week-ends, and holidays. I anticipated and met the needs of my bosses and always exceeded their requirements and now,  just like that, they say I have to go. It’s like all my efforts over all these years meant nothing to them. It’s like I meant nothing to them. – Heartbroken Employee.

I faithfully loved my husband. I supported him and stood by him through thick and thin. I did all that I could to please him and meet his needs. I took good care of my appearance, our children and our home. I was a friend to him, a companion…..or so I thought. Yet in spite of it all,  I found out he is having an affair, and it is not the first. – Heartbroken Wife

We raised our children in the knowledge and ways of the Lord and provided everything that they needed to succeed yet our son turned to a wayward, destructive lifestyle and is now addicted to meth and our brilliant and beautiful daughter says she is pregnant, does not want to go to college anymore and is moving in with her boyfriend. –  Heartbroken Parents

No matter what I do it’s never good enough for my father. He always criticizes my efforts and finds some way to minimize my achievements. It’s as if  he has pleasure in belittling me and making me feel like less of a man. My wife, kids, colleagues, friends, and associates all accept, respect and celebrate me but not him.  How I long for him to just love, accept and celebrate me as his son…… just simply for who I am. – Heartbroken Son

I thought he loved me and wanted to be with me. He said he would honor my decision to wait until we get married to have sex but he forced himself on me and took from me what I can never get back, my virginity. I trusted him and he violated me. How could he do this? I trusted him! Now he says he does not want to continue in our relationship and won’t return my calls and there’s a new picture of him on Facebook hugging another girl.  How could he do this to me? – Heartbroken Teen Girl.

“I TRUSTED YOU”

It was a long time ago. I was just a little boy but it seems like yesterday. I knew he should not  touch me the way he did. It felt wrong, but he said it was okay and  it was our little secret. One day it turned into full-blown sex and he threatened to kill me if  told anyone or refused to do it. He continued to molest me for years until one day I could not take it anymore and took the risk and ran away. Now as man, I really want a heterosexual relationship that leads to marriage and I want to have kids, but because my past abuse something keeps drawing me to a homosexual lifestyle. This is so hard. I feel cheated. I feel like damaged goods. – Heartbroken Victim of Sexual Abuse

I trusted him with everything in the business. He was my best friend and confidant. He knew everything about the operation. I paid him well and gave him benefits above and beyond what he deserved. I can’t believe he swindled me like this. after all of these years of working so hard and making so many sacrifices to build this business, now I have nothing. – Heartbroken Businessman

My wife is the most cherished person in my life. I worked hard and provided everything for her and my children. I spent time with them and did all I could for them; I’m even known among our family, friends and community as good a husband and father, and after all of this, she left me for another man who will “make her happy”. How could this happen? I’ll never get over this! – Heartbroken Husband

After 7 years of trying we were finally pregnant. Oh the joy! Oh the excitement! We did everything we could to make sure that our baby would be fine. We kept every pre-natal appointment, ate healthy, took the recommended vitamin supplements, got proper and adequate exercise and rest, avoided exposure to any potentially harmful substances, prayed. Eight months had passed and things seemed  perfect until one morning my wife said there was no movement. We quickly made a doctor’s appointment and after evaluation, received the crushing news that our baby had died. We could not believe it. Childless again, we’re devastated. – Heartbroken Young Couple  

So many wonderful memories……birthday parties, sleep overs, family gatherings, the day we finally finished the pool, the basketball games on the driveway, cell group meetings in the great room, camping in the garden, and best of all, chatting over dinner in the kitchen…….so many wonderful memories. They are all we have left since the foreclosure. 20 years of faithfully paying our mortgage, unexpected job loss, now its all gone. What took years to acquire swept away in a matter of months…. all gone, all gone. – Heartbroken Former Homeowners.

I prayed and prayed and hoped and hoped that she was okay, but when I kept calling and she did not answer the phone, I knew something was gravely wrong. When I arrived at her house the front door was ajar and I entered slowly, feeling sick in my stomach all the while somehow knowing what I would see. As I turned the corner into the kitchen I screamed. There on the floor lay the lifeless body of my baby, her face beaten black and blue and a gunshot wound to her head. Barely able to breathe, with hands shaking, I dialed 911. My greatest nightmare had come true. My daughter was a victim of domestic violence that had escalated out of hand. I told her to leave Bill until he got some help but somehow she just couldn’t. She thought he would change. Now she is gone and my heart’s broken. – Heartbroken Mother

“IT BROKE MY HEART”

Can you identify with any of these scenarios?

Maybe your experience is different but the effect is the same, you have a broken heart.

You hurt.

You hurt in unexplainable ways; ways sometimes too deep for words.

You’ve tried to shake it, forget it, pretend it really does not matter, tell yourself you’re over it and moved on, but you know that is not true.

You hurt.

Persons in your life have no idea what is going in inside of you.

Those who know what you went through feel as if you are fine because of the passage of time, your cheerful outward appearance, gusto for life, and pursuit and accomplishment of goals………but you’re not, and you’re afraid to say or indicate otherwise.

You may feel as if you are experiencing this deep hurt all alone and that no one understands, but you know what, this is not the case.

Psalms 34:18 states:

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
 and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (NIV, 1984).

Whether or not you sense His presence, in the midst of your hurt and pain, the Lord is close. He is nearby. He is not far away and unconcerned and He is touched by your feelings of brokenness because He knows what it is to experience deep pain.

Speaking of the Lord, Isaiah 53:3-5 states:

“We despised him and rejected him;
 he endured suffering and pain.
 No one would even look at him—
we ignored him as if he were nothing. But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. 
 All the while we thought that his suffering
 was punishment sent by God. But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did.
We are healed by the punishment he suffered,
 made whole by the blows he received.” (Good News Translation – GNT)

“HE KNOWS WHAT IT WAS TO SUFFER”

Considering what He went through, you can rest assured that Jesus can identify with your suffering and pain and not only does He identify, He cares.

I Peter 5:7 states:

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” ( NLT)

In the midst of your  brokeheartedness you are not alone. God is close, He understands, He cares and He knows about your sorrow and tears.

Psalms 56:8 states:

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”  NLT)

Wow!

While all of this is good news, there is even better news. 

Jesus speaking in Luke 4;18, 19 states:

“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.” (NIV, 1984)

According to this scripture, one of the key assignments of Jesus is to heal the brokenhearted – Isn’t that good news!

Not only did He come to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8), that we may have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), and to preach the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43), but also to heal the brokenhearted.

The healing of your broken heart is that important to God…….that’s amazing!

Psalms 147:3 states:

 “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.” (NIV, 1984)

The Lord heals broken hearts and your broken heart is no exception.

He can heal it too.

His healing is available for you.

 All you have to do is believe it, then by faith receive it.