To Heal The Brokenhearted

"He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed." —(Jesus)

I've been thinking lately about the lyrics from a song I used to like back in the 1990's. The chorus said:

"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you. And this hole in my heart can't be filled by the things I do." 

And yet, how many of us do just that—seek to fill the empty places in our hearts—the loneliness, the longings, the emptiness, the pain—with other things, activities... or people? 

Jesus is recorded as proclaiming that He was sent, "To heal the brokenhearted." (Luke 4:18).

Not only does this mean that He came to heal our hearts that have been broken because of failed relationships, tragic loss, or rejection, but He came to to make our hearts whole. 

To make us whole people.

I've spent a lifetime trying to fill up the empty places in my heart with other things. But just as that song states so well, "And this hole in my heart can't be filled by the things I do."

We as human beings go to such great lengths to escape pain and loneliness. But nothing, no matter how exciting, or numbing, can permanently remove the loneliness or pain that we feel. 

So many people are looking for that "right person" to "make them happy." Several people that I know are, or have, cast aside all reason and common sense and are in destructive relationships that are a ship wreck in the making. 

And the saddest part is, once the ashes settle after these destructive relationships have failed—and they will fail—the fallout will be broken hearts, possibly another broken family, and another suitcase to add to their already huge set of emotional baggage—which they will carry with them into the next destructive relationship.

And the destructive cycle continues.

For some people maybe it's not bad relationships. Maybe it's destructive eating. "Comfort food." For others it may be buying new stuff. A new car, furniture, or new clothes. Others may try to fill up the emptiness in their lives by traveling, seeing new places. Others may medicate to feel better. All these things are done to forget about, or to escape pain, loneliness and emptiness.

But as I have experienced time and again in my life, the thrill or exhilaration you may feel from new things or experiences is only temporary. And afterwards, you feel even lonelier and emptier than you did before.

For Christ to make our broken hearts whole, we must ask Him to help us identify areas of brokenness in our hearts that have held us back, or that hinder us in relationships, in communicating, in intimacy, or in moving forward in our lives. 

Maybe you were hurt, abused, shamed, or ridiculed when you were younger, and to this day you feel the emotional scars of those experiences. Jesus wants you to invite Him into those scarred areas of your heart and ask Him to heal those painful places.

We all have holes in our hearts that can only be filled by Jesus.

Oh, how He wants to be invited in to heal us—to heal our broken hearts—to make us whole.

Jesus said:

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in..." (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking... waiting to be invited in.

     —Will you invite Him in?

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.