He Heals Broken Hearts

Psalm 147:3-5

He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
    his understanding has no limit.

The gash on my leg hurt. 

Several years ago Tim and I purchased a home that needed a lot of tender loving care. One day my daughters and I cleaned and painted in the various rooms of the old place. Clumsy as I am, I tripped over a medicine cabinet and something sliced into my shin. Blood spurted everywhere, at least it seemed like it to me who has no inclination toward any kind of medical care. My leg throbbed, and I screamed like a five-year old. Sara and Hannah came running to my rescue and assured me the wound wasn't as bad as it appeared. Still I needed help. About the time the girls calmed me, my mom and nephew stopped by to check the progress of the house. Bless that boy's heart, he took me to the clinic in town where the physician cleaned my leg and bandaged the wound.

Medical folks mend the brokenness of physical bodies. God heals the brokenness of souls. Oh, how the spirit cries when someone leaves this world. My heart breaks over the losses caused by COVID, cancer, and any other tragedy. Yet, even in the midst of the hurt, the anger, the frustration, the inability to understand, God gives hope. He holds His hands out to the broken, wraps His arms around the weary, lifts up the fallen and binds the wounds.

The doctor wrapped a bandage around my leg, gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way to be healed. God wraps His arms around me and keeps me close. He embraces me as He heals my heart.

A wounded soul takes time to heal, it’s a process. In the healing, scars may form and remind me of the pain I experienced, but they also remind me of the One who loves me more than I understand. I am limited in my understanding of why life happens the way it does, but God, the Great Physician, understands and knows the outcome. My hope lies in His wisdom.

Ask God to bind the wounds of your heart.

Crayons and Hope

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

The delicious scent of crayons fills me with hope.

In my elementary years, I owned a large coffee can filled with broken crayons. The tin held every color you could imagine, some with the paper intact, some free of wrap. Instead of tossing the colorful sticks when they crumbled under pressure, mom gave me a can to store them. I loved digging through the pile of color to find just the right one for whatever I was drawing. And the smell—an aroma that signified the beginning of a beautiful creation. 

I scribbled with them until they smashed down to a nub. Some of the tiny pieces, melted with wax, were recycled into candles. That glorious can of broken crayons gave me hours of joy.

I may not be a crayon, put to the test by little fingers coloring vigorously and snapped in two, but I relate because I'm a broken person. We all are in some way. It's difficult to live in this world with all the violence, negativity, distress, and grief. At some point emotions, spirits, and bodies break. I've never broken a bone, but my spirit and emotions have been crushed, sometimes through my own actions and at times by others.

But the good news, yes, the great news is—God loves the broken. He's close to the brokenhearted, He heals the one whose heart hurts. He renews the crushed spirit and offers hope.

I love that about God. He doesn't discard the person whose life looks like a pile of fragmented pieces. Instead He takes the cracked spirit, and the emotional mess and creates a brand-new work of art.

God embraces broken people every day. The love He gives wraps around anyone who seeks Him. He adores His creation and wants the best for us.

God opens His arms to the broken. Run to Him.

Broken

God loves broken people.

Healing begins with Him.

 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

Psalm 147:3