Dwight Fletcher | Curing a broken heart

24 Nov 2024, 05:12 · The Gleaner

MANY OF us are living with a broken or wounded heart. It affects our lives daily. We have tried to fix it but have been unsuccessful, and we don’t know what else to do. God cares about our broken hearts. “ The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV).

Throughout Scripture, God has shown that He’s in the healing business. If you’re hurting, God is looking for you because He wants to heal you. God wants to heal us and turn our lives around. As a matter of fact, part of Jesus mandate and purpose was to heal the broken hearted. Jesus announced, “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 broken-hearted” Luke 4:18 (NIV). If your heart has been broken or wounded, Jesus came for you. He has been affected in His life in every way that we have been affected in ours. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (HCSB). He understands our pain.

If you were rejected He understands, because He was also rejected by His own people. If you were abandoned He understands, because He was also abandoned by His disciples. If you were slandered, Jesus understands because the Jews said He used the power of demons to do His miracles. Whatever we have been through, Jesus can relate.

It’s God’s desire to heal our hurts, but we have to carry them to Him and engage Him about them. Jesus wants to take away all the hurt, pain and brokenness that we have stored up in our hearts. He tells us to, “…cast all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP).

For us to begin the process of healing, we have to participate in it by taking certain actions. The Bible tells us that we need to open the door for God to come in and heal us. The first action we need to take is the act of forgiveness. We must choose to release the person who has hurt us. This is an indispensable step. Most of the hurts and wounds that have affected our hearts came because of something someone else did to us. We often feel like the person owes us something and that they should apologise, right the wrong, and/or suffer for the wrong.

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We, however, are the ones suffering. “Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” Romans 12:19 (MSG). We must let it go, not bury it, but release the people who hurt us. The Lord’s Prayer instructs, “… and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us”. The Word then says, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:12, 14-15 (NLT).

Healing comes only from our Heavenly Father, but it begins with us. To be healed we must first put their judgment in God’s hands and release them.

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