Healing From Life's DisappointmentsSample

Seeing her face broke my heart. Those beautiful brown eyes were welling up with tears, her wild curls extra tousled. Her boyfriend had hurt her just one too many times.

Particular heartbreaks, like my daughter's that day, can feel permanent. We aren't sure we will ever recover from that broken relationship, a failed marriage, on-the-job betrayal, or a friend that dumped us for no reason whatsoever.

Today's passage is significant to anyone dealing with life's heartbreaks and disappointments. In it, we see that God has come to heal the brokenhearted. The Hebrew term for brokenhearted means "to break down, wreck, crush, or shatter." We all know what it feels like to have a shattered heart, don't we?

But there is good news! God is Jehovah Rapha, the one who heals the brokenhearted. He liberates captives and frees those in bondage, even if that bondage involves emotional rather than physical chains! And best of all, He is a God who gives us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for heaviness.

Think about that for a moment. Heartbreak tries to take the beauty of your life and turn it into ash. But God does the opposite. Throughout Scripture, He turns the ashes of our heartbreaks into beauty. God takes childless Abraham and Sarah and gives them a family in Isaac. He heals the woman with the flow of blood, restoring her to health and community. God heals heartbreak and works even the worst things together for our good.

If you have a shattered heart, remember that Jesus alone is Jehovah Rapha, our healer. In fact, in Luke 4, Jesus reads Isaiah 61 in the synagogue and explains to those gathered that He fulfills its prophecy. Christ can heal your broken heart, even if it doesn't seem possible at the moment. For now, just breathe and remember He is near the brokenhearted. He sees your pain. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you. He will turn this brutal pain into beauty one day. Just wait and see.