He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psa 147:3)
All of us seem to carry some kind of hurt in our lives. There have been people and circumstances that have wounded us and we carry our battle scars today as inconspicuous tattoos that we’d rather hide than display. Emotional pain seems sometimes harder to bear than physical pain. Physical pain seems somewhat more objective and we can figure out more readily its cause and cure. Emotional pain seems more subtle and insidious and has that tendency to masquerade itself and then jab you when you’re not looking. How many of us would jump at the chance to go back in time and rewrite our history so we wouldn’t have that hollow feeling in our hearts today? We’ve read the books, we’ve tried the remedies, we’ve talked and thought it all out a million times but the anguish fails to flat line. Is there any cure for the hurting heart?
When Jesus came into His hometown of Nazareth one Sabbath morning He went to the local synagogue assembly. The leader asked Jesus to read from the Isaiah scroll of the Old Testament. Jesus found the place where it was written: "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; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." (Luke 4:18-19). After He read this passage Luke continues: Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:20-21)
What a wonderful promise that Jesus has come to give us the good news of His salvation which incorporates the greatest healing a person can receive . . . the healing of the sin-sick soul. Then we have the promise of Rom 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” If the Lord has given us His salvation, then we can trust Him for the rest of the issues of life!
Trauma happens to us all. There is the crisis and then follows the infliction of pain as a result. Hurts take time to heal but we have the wonderful promise of Hosea 6:1, “Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.”
What we don’t want to do is fixate on ourselves and focus on our pain or even our healing. This would be the doorway to a self-centered life. We are to look “unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2). After we look to Jesus we are to focus on others who are in pain. And if you take a good look out there you will find many who are suffering a lot more than you are. God wants to comfort you in your trial so you can be a comfort to others (2 Cor 1:3-4). If you never had any pain you wouldn’t have a clue as to what other people are going through.
God loves you. He has promised to comfort you and to heal your broken heart. Jesus was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa 53:3). He knows what you’re going through. Remember His terrible suffering on the cross but also remember He rose again and is your Healer today. (Exo 15:26; Mal 4:2)
Louie