Skip to main content

Hope for the Brokenhearted

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



Have you ever had a broken heart? Or a broken spirit? Whether it was broken due to a love lost or unrequited or because your spirit was crushed by harsh words or actions that made it hard to even love yourself, I know what it feels like and my heart aches with yours. When I read the above verse, I was so happy to know that when I was at my most broken or crushed, the Lord has a message for me. He is close. He saves.

The words of others. The tears I have cried. The withdrawing I have done to protect myself from more hurt. None of those things made it better. Pouring all of my words, hopes, dreams, hurts, loves, desires at the feet of the Lord did something. It gave me someone who would listen without advice or interruption. It gave me His peace. In Phillipians 4:6-7, Paul tells us, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experinece God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (NLT). If you've never sought God's peace, take time to do it. If your heart feels hardened, broken or overflowing, know that he's never promised us anything he won't deliver.

"Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against my enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings." (Psalm 61:1-4, NAS). Let the Lord be your refuge. Let Him hold you and comfort you. Our Father seeks relationship with us and loves us unconditionally. As much as we hide ourselves--our true selves--from others, there is no mask between Him and you. He sees you just as you are and loves you. He created you for something more than this moment and this right now. He knows this is a process and he's ready to grow you in and through it all...if you ask Him. If you seek Him.

I will leave you with one more piece of hope written in 1 John 5:14, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (NIV). This verse is key. Sometimes we ask for things that aren't right for us--you know, the "be careful what you wish for" theory--and then get angry when God doesn't deliver them. He said ask and you shall receive, right?! This is clarified with the statement here where it says "according to HIS will". God has a plan for each of us. How we get there is where our free will comes in. Does it matter if I live in Cleveland or San Diego to the Lord? Not if it allows me to live my purpose either way it won't. Sometimes, the answer is that it doesn't matter either way. If he has a real need for you to do something, it will happen. Think of all the people who were delayed from reaching the Towers the morning of 9/11/01. It wasn't a coincidence. Nothing is.

Comments

  1. Anonymous4/3/11, 6:14 PM

    This is so true and so beautifully written. Thanks for sharing the link with me so that I could read this reflection from you heart.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Struggles

Struggles. We all have them. My (latest) favorite saying is, "We all have our things." And for me, my "thing" is wanting to eat to fill the emptiness inside. And not like carrots and apples and good for you stuff. Oh, No! The really bad for you stuff. I crave sugary treats. I have been doing so well with my eating lately and have been exercising for the last few weeks as well, but last night nearly took me down. I was struggling with wanting to run--not walk--into the kitchen and make myself a bowl of cereal with some Craisins or a fruit smoothie or a PB&J. I prayed instead. Almost to the point of tears, I begged God for this to pass. I ate some carrots. I drank some more water. I contemplated some tea. I got out my swiss ball and did some wall squats as I watched TV. I had already been out for a walk earlier with ML, too, but I felt like I was coming out of my skin. OBSESSING about eating something. It wasn't food that I wanted, though. I wanted to feed t
6 comments
Read more

Join the Navy, See the World!

There are things we want in life and make happen, but they don't always happen as we'd planned or imagined. My dad had gone to Ohio University in Athens, OH on a wrestling scholarship. I, too, wanted to go to OU, but since he'd dropped out and it had a reputation as a huge party school, it was going to be a tough sell. So, I did my homework and sell I did. At the time (1990), OU was one of the top 10 colleges for Communications in the U.S. That was the degree I wanted and I wanted to go to OU to get my degree. I graduated early and during the time between my acceptance to OU and the College of Communications and pre-college, I had become further enamored with marine life and sharks specifically and wanted to change my major to Marine Biology which at OU was actually a Zoology degree. The girl tried to talk me out of changing my major because it was so hard to get into the College of Communication and if I left, I would have to reapply and hope for the best in my junior year
Post a Comment
Read more

Sometimes, Reality is Worse

What if I told you that Joseph/SAM was created to hurt me? Made up to be everything I'd ever want and more? What if I told you everything I believed and knew him to be was an enormous hoax? All because someone wanted to give me what she felt I had given her. All that she felt I had taken from her. I have to admit that while people have hurt me before with their actions and decisions it has been for their own personal and selfish reasons. Usually not with malicious intent.  There has to be a lot of pain and hurt within a person to invest so much into the creation of a fictional character. Someone who would really take the time to know me. Someone who would enlist others to make the ruse real. To call me on the phone, to send me cards from the web, to pick out a card and leave it at a bar where the bartender who gave it to me told me how cute my guy was, to create a Facebook account with pictures and friends, to bring an ex-wife into the mix, pictures from the desert and your trave
10 comments
Read more