Healing Broken Hearts

Jesus said that, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; ...he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.” Luke 4:18

 Not only did Jesus say that healing broken hearts was part of His mission, after He  said that he also proclaimed, “These Scriptures came true today!”  Luke 4:20

I don't know about you, but even though I have been a minister of the Gospel for more than forty years, I still have trouble understanding that.  I don't have a problem believing that Jesus cares about my broken heart, but how does He heal it?

Any bereaved parent will tell you their heart was broken over the death of their child.  Hearts are broken over many other circumstances of life,too. So how does the Lord heal broken hearts?  After eight years of mourning the loss of our daughter my heart still aches.  It still hurts.  Sometimes the pain in my heart is very strong.

It is often said that time is the great healer.  So, is that God's remedy for broken hearts; just give it time?  Time does seem to help up to a point and God gives us time and allows it to contribute to our healing.

I have had a few injuries in my life.  I remember cutting my leg when I fell on a piece of glass on a school playground.  The wound bled and required some stitches.  It hurt but after some time it began to heal and the day came when the doctor took out the stitches.  It did not bleed anymore but there was a scar. Over sixty years later I can still show you the scar. (Want to see it?)

The wound of my broken heart from the loss of my daughter is no longer an open wound but there certainly is a scar. It seems that wounds can't heal without making a scar.  Several years ago I came across a song entitled, “Scars Are a Sign of Healing”.

The healing process is more than just passing more time.  God sends the time but He also promised, “I will not leave you comfortless.  I will come to you.” John 14:18

Comfort is part of the healing process.  The Lord  comforts us by coming to us through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, (or Comforter) which has been given to all believers.  Then, He also brings us comfort through other caring, brokenhearted people.

In our BASIS ministry we have support groups for grieving parents.  In the support group we see one another's scars of a broken heart, and in the process there is some healing.  God finds ways to continue the healing process.