A Broken Heart

Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

We’ve all heard glory stories of Christians who are suffering from physical maladies but magnify the Lord as their strength and their song. Examples in the Scriptures, such as saints who were persecuted, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, and the sufferings of Christ, show there are times when we are called to physical suffering for the glory of God.

A physically ill Christian can be loved back to good health through medical intervention, prayers, cards, phone calls, flowers and meals. But, there is one infirmity that does not respond to this healing intervention and drives the sufferer to their knees.

There is a suffering
that cannot be healed by a physician,
that cannot be helped by the passage of time,
that cannot be assuaged by the physical help from the saints
– the broken heart.

This suffering is pure spiritual warfare fought within the heart, alone and on your knees. You are prostrate before the Lord in surrender to circumstances until you can find peace. It is a battle of stormy seas raging within that needs the calm voice of the Savior to say, “Peace, be still!”

It is a time where heart is so heavy, laughter at trivial matters seems profane and blasphemous.
It is a time where tears are so commonplace, you can’t remember a time when you didn’t weep.
It is a time where your body responds in fatigue and aches because it seems as if you are physically enduring the weight of your burden.
It is a time where your ambitions, motives, accomplishments and failures are so before the throne of God that you feel naked in His presence, as the searing light of His omniscient love seeks out the hidden corners of your heart and mind.

Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

Who breaks our heart? People. Because we love people more than things and circumstances, the tragedy of a broken heart occurs when people we know and love affect us with their sin. A stranger can’t cause the pain an intimate can.

Who can bear this broken spirit?
Only the One who bore the weight of our cross upon His back,
the One who’s hands and feet surrendered to the nails intended for us,
the One who’s body bore the stripes of our sin, and
the One who uttered those sanctifying words, “It is finished.”
He alone, can hold up the burden of a saint suffering from a broken heart, and
He alone can turn those tears into joy.

What helps heal a broken heart?

*Confess any sin you committed in the situation. Your REACTION to their ACTION may have been wrong. Even if you can’t confess to that person, confess it to the Lord. Purge your heart and mind of guilt from unconfessed sin.

*Understand that they sinned against God, not you. It is not about YOU, it is about the Lord Jesus.

*Forgive like the Prodigal’s father, who waited on the doorstep with arms open in forgiveness and restoration.

*Understand that what others mean for evil, God means for good. Allow the peaceable fruit of righteousness to work together for good, because you love God and are called according to His purposes.

*Trust the Lord, who causes or allows all things to happen. He that calmed the seas, but also caused them to rage. He also allowed Judas to betray His Son, for the good of the rest of the world.

*Serve the Lord with gladness. Don’t allow this to keep you from being in the Word, in prayer, witnessing and seeking to be a help to the saints and the sinners. Do not end up so busy you don’t heal, but let the Lord guide in your ministering.

*Enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 34:18
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”