He Heals the Brokenhearted

I broke my favorite glass a few days ago. It shattered practically in my face, as I had it sitting on the counter in front of me. I reached for something in the cabinet and a small glass jar fell out and right onto that favorite drinking glass. It was a mess, but I swept up and cleaned the counter of all the glass and moved on. At least I thought it was all cleaned up.

My foot started hurting the next day. I just figured the new pair of shoes I was wearing caused the problem. I changed shoes and it still hurt. Finally yesterday morning I took a much closer look at my foot. I saw a small dark circle. I rubbed the circle and could feel something there. I got out my flashlight, took off my glasses and looked closely. I saw dried blood and pressed in that area. Fresh blood showed on my foot as I squeezed the painful area. To my surprise a large piece of glass came out! Once I rid myself of the pain, totally extracting the source of it, my foot no longer hurts.

There are times when our favorite thing is shattered. It may be a friendship, a relationship, a ministry, a job or…. We hurt and wish it wasn’t so. We try to tidy up the mess and move on. The only problem with it is sometimes there is residual pain. We try to ignore it, walk over it, do other things but the pain lingers. We cleaned this mess up, we argue with ourselves. Yet the pain is still there. Everywhere we go we feel it. The pain will remain until we take the time to examine the point of the pain itself. That takes time, slowing down, turning off the distractions. We may have to let someone look at it for us if it is in a difficult place.

We have to let God look at our pain. He will examine it and through prayer and the Word we will be rid of the source of pain completely. Without His touch it will continue to fester and affect every other area of our lives. It may have looked like a minor thing but without the Lord’s intervention we are destined to remain in agony. We will hobble around in our life and never get relief. But when God touches our soreness, our pain, our agony of spirit mind or body, we are truly healed. We are healed so well that we can let new blessings come into our lives. We won’t be so worried about what might get shattered for we are intimately acquainted with the Healer Himself.

Oh beloved, don’t you think it’s time to let God have a look? Jesus went to the cross so that you wouldn’t have to carry the shards of hurts around with you. He doesn’t want you crippled or hindered in any way. It’s only when you let Him see the hurt, remove the pain and cleanse the wound that you can walk freely another day. Give it all to Him. He already knows and He’s waiting for you to let go. He understands the feelings you have about it all. He cares that you have been injured. But He wants you to be delivered of the hindrances to walking free. The momentary pressure of God’s work is worth the release of the pain. The closer you let God into the pain the more free you will be.

God loves you and He’s for you and He is the only Healer who can make things better and change the pain into His glory. Rejoice in His Truth as you live in the light of His healing touch.

Psalm 107:20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Psalm 57:2 I will cry to God Most High, To God who accomplishes all things for me.

I Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

The Lord's First Aid

by rebekahbeene

Scrapes and cuts are a natural part of life. I have scars from bicycle wrecks and stitches from games that went wrong. I loved band-aids so much that my parents hid them from me. When I needed a bandage, so did my baby dolls. I learned early on not to pick at scabs. My mother watched me like a hawk. She always told me “the more you pick at it the bigger the scar will be”. Most of the really big injuries barely hold a mark. 

Scrapes and cuts in the life of a believer are sure to come. Not everyone is kind and generous. Not all who claim the name of Jesus will be loyal, faithful and true. Not all the things we do to ourselves are good. The sins we commit hold as much injury as the sins that are committed to us. Sometimes our faith is wrecked and we find ourselves bleeding on the roadside. When we don’t live by the Word we’re sure to have an accident. When others don’t live by the Word they are sure to cause accidents. Some of our injuries are self-inflicted, while others come at the hands of bullies. The very enemy of our soul wants to wreck us, wreak havoc on us and scar us for life.

We have to do something with the injury. We want to cover it up ourselves. We want it to go away, but if we keep picking at it we are sure to make it larger and larger. It is only in leaving it alone and letting it heal that we will be able to move on and feel spiritually healthy again.

God wants you to know that He understands it all. He was with you when it happened. You don’t have to heal yourself. He knows the pain and the agony of injury. Especially at the hands of another believer the hurt is even deeper and is liable to bleed longer. He knows that the tendency is to keep looking at the wound, keep digging for the why of it all. He says to let Him do what only He can do. He will bandage your wound, He will heal your hurt and He will make all things new. The enemy wants you to believe your injury is permanent. God says it is going to turn out for your good and His glory. 

Oh beloved, your life may have been grossly injured. You may be still trying to make sense of it all but God says today is a new day. It’s your day of healing. Quit picking at those things you can’t change & pick up the pace in your faith walk! Let God heal it all. It may take some time, but God’s got all the time in the world. You won’t be permanently damaged when the Great Physician does His work. You won’t have to worry about the after effects of it all for He is able to heal you, deliver you, continue His work in you and plant you securely in the center of His will. He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that matters as you walk in the healing only He can give.

“Lord, we want to believe You can heal us, but we’re hurt. The pain keeps showing up and we keep picking at it and picking it up. Forgive us for trying to fix it on our own. We admit that we may need to forgive the one who injured us. We may need to forgive ourselves. Help us to walk in wholeness of mind, body and spirit even when the enemy says it is hopeless. Your word is our balm in Gilead and we come humbly to you right now thanking You for what You have done and what You will do. In Jesus’ name.”

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows]. AMP

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.

1 Peter 2:24 He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.

Jeremiah 17:14 O LORD, if You heal me, I will be truly healed; if You save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for You alone!

Psalm 30:2 O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You restored my health.

A Life Wrapped Up in Jesus

There are a lot of gift exchanges going on. From office parties to church events, everyone is scrambling to find just the right thing for their occasion.  Even the dirty Santa get-togethers require bringing a good gift, because seeing it swapped around the room lets you know you succeeded.

For years I made homemade bows and turned them into butterflies and angels and such. I’ll admit the last few  years has made me rethink spending so much time on that. Now I just try to find big bows and quickly slap them on the package. I have already gotten a couple of gifts and one was wrapped extra nice. It just looked great and because it had a store tag on it, I knew it would be good.

Upon opening the package I found that the contents were broken. It was sitting there so pretty in the beautifully wrapped package I had just opened, but as I slipped my hand in to lift the gift out, only a piece of it lifted up. No problem. The giver did a really good job and I loved my present. It didn’t take long to make things right and the replacement was perfectly together.

Our lives are often like the beautifully wrapped presents under the tree. We’re done just right. Everything in order. Beautiful paper, perfectly formed bow, just the right tag and our life is perfectly presentable. No one knows what the contents are, but the cover is par excellence.  Our exterior is put together in all the right ways. But open the package and peer beneath the veneer and some are terribly broken. Quickly we want to recover the package and make it look good, but inside it’s just broken.  The beautiful covering can’t change what’s inside.

Oh beloved, God sees beneath the wrapping. He knows you. He’s well aware that inside you are suffering with a broken heart. It may be the loss of a loved one to death. It may be the loss of love due to another’s change of heart. It could be that your insides are full of regrets, fears, worries, troubles and agony.  You’ve done a good job of keeping up appearances for appearance’s sake but Jesus wants to get inside. He wants to probe all the brokenness. You want to hide it all. You haven’t dared tell anyone just how broken things really are, but God already knows. And Christ came on that beautiful starlit night to fix you. He is the Repairer of broken things. And He wants to repair your heart and mind and then display you for all the world to see His wonderful workmanship.

If you will let Him He will not just repair it all, but He will make it all new. I know it’s hard to believe right now, when you’re hurting and weary and wondering what you will do. But He promises. He says He loves you and that’s why He’s willing to mend your broken heart, heal your hurting mind and redeem your soul.  He’s for you and that’s why you can trust Him with the deepest contents of your heart.  Even the hardest of times, the broken moments, will show His glory as you are His most beloved child.  He will never leave you with a broken heart, no more than a parent would leave their child with a broken present. Then He will wrap you up in Him and guard your heart and mind forever.

A life wrapped up in Jesus is the most beautiful life you’ll ever live and that’s all that really matters as you let Him make your life just right inside and out.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Jeremiah 33:6 Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.

Matthew 6:30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

Jeremiah 17:4 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.

Malachi 4:2 But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

Need a Good Dose of Gratefulness?

I’ve been blogging for years and now I find myself branching out onto other social sites just a little. Yesterday by a simple twist of fate while looking at blogs, I found that one of an old friend’s daughters had passed away in December. She was young, maybe 40. I also found that she used to blog and be on another social site as well. I found her blog, which is still up. It was profound. It seems that she had suffered from fibromyalgia and other illnesses they could not diagnose. She had been a traveler and enjoyer of life – going all over the world using her gifts and talents. But she had become totally house bound because of illness – unable to work, unable to enjoy life or build relationships.




Her last blogs were pleas of sorts. Pleas to God really – for distant family to be closer, for pain to go away, for Dr.’s to be more sympathetic and comforting, for meds to work and more. She was a talented, poetic and artistic person, even in the last days of her life.



We who are here on earth really take things for granted. Sunrises and sunsets. Meals and desserts. Driving cars and riding motorcycles. Wind in our hair. Mosquito bites and cheesecake bites. We have everything. Don’t we. Our poor is another country’s rich. Today we feel wonderful and we just expect it. Our marriage is good and we just expect it. Our kids love us and we just expect it. We grow used to good and only until something is gone do we find that it was magnificent.



How is it with you today? Are you living with the pain? Perhaps it’s physical, but maybe it’s emotional. Yesterday was wonderful but today all the things you took for granted seem a distant shadow. Maybe you’re living the good life and how could that possibly ever go away? Perhaps it’s all just too perfect and you’re so busy enjoying perfection that you forget the One Who gives and blesses your life. After all, it’s expected isn’t it?



It could be that someone stepped on your toes, acted without sensitivity or just plain lost it with you. You’re the recipient of another’s rage or anger. You can’t do anything about it, you can’t make it right, you can’t see through to the other side of the problem.



Oh beloved I encourage you today to live the good life of gratefulness! Along with gratefulness I appeal to you to embrace humility for today is a gift and anything good in it is a gift from the Lord. My prayer for you is that you will embrace God’s heart of forgiveness and mercy and gentleness with all you love and with all you hold dear. Everyone is worth forgiving simply because we were forgiven. I pray also that you will be forgiven by those who have been holding anything against you. I am asking God to remind you every day that this life may have its ups and downs, but Heaven is real and it will be oh so very wonderful! I pray most of all that you will know how incredibly loved and adored you are by Father God and that you will feel His embrace during the sorrows as well as the joys of this life. He loves you, beloved and He’s for you and that’s all that really matters.



Colossians 3:12-13 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.



Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.



Ephesians 4:32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.



Matthew 5:7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.



Psalm 63:3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!

It's Your Greatest Love Story!

Today is a celebration of love day. All over the country people are paying respects to those they love. From tiny little paper cards in Kindergarten to a dozen roses and boxes of chocolates, everyone has the opportunity to feel special and loved on this one day alone.  I usually get a little tickled because if I wait too long to get that special card for my beloved, all the husband cards are about gone! But still, it’s a great day to celebrate love and to give something special to one who means so much to you.

The only problem with Valentine’s Day is the some folks get left totally out of the whole love thing. It costs money so the ones who have to count every penny would just as soon leave it alone.  It costs time so the ones who are overcommitted find very little time to get a card for anyone.  It costs feelings for it’s really hard to buy a card or get flowers or give a heartfelt gift to someone when you’re holding things against them.

I’ve been on the receiving end of roses, candy, cards and more! I still have a dozen roses in a long white box in my cedar chest! No kidding!  I’ve kept them for 40 years because I love the one who gave them to me.

I’ve also been on the receiving end of unforgiveness and rejection. No love lost there. I’ve had problems and issues and dealings with unloving, critical, harsh and unforgiving people. I’ve also wanted to be unloving, critical, harsh and unforgiving.  I’ve even had problems forgiving myself. Can you relate beloved?

But every time I look at situations that are out of my control and hurts that make me want to cringe and climb into the closet of life to stay there forever, I look into the mirror. There I see Christ. I see my hurts and rejection taken on by Him as He stood in Pilate’s court while those who had promised to love Him forever cried, “Crucify!”  And I see Him walking up the Calvary’s hill, dragging my sins all the way- such a heavy load.  There in the mirror of His Word I see hope – hope for me, hope for those I love, hope for the unlovable, hope for the lost – as Christ Himself rose again! I can forgive, I can be forgiven, I can walk in newness of life as His mercies are renewed every morning!

Oh beloved, open up your heart and run to the only One Who will ever love you unconditionally, without reservation. He holds none of your mistakes against you; He holds back nothing of His nature, His love, His compassion, His forgiveness from you. Because He is Love! And because He is Love, He will be with you forever, even unto the end of the age! Not only that, but He will help you forgive, heal you of your hurts, give you everything you need and get you through it all.

Hide your soul in the depths of His love this morning! Read the greatest Love story ever written, contained in God’s Word for it’s all about you and the Savior! Hold His Words close to your heart and dance with your Beloved in fields of Grace! And have a blessed, blessed day in Jesus!

 

Ephesians 2:4-5  But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ. (Amplified Bible)

I John 4:9-11 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

Romans 5:2-5 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.