God is Near: Hope for the Broken-Hearted

Dealing with a broken heart can feel heavy. It can sometimes feel literal in the sense that there is a heaviness inside of us. Some people know what a broken heart feels like in the context of a romantic relationship, but a broken heart can come from many things, including a letdown, a sudden change in the normal, seasonal shifts, unmet expectations/goals, grieving dreams that didn’t work out, unanswered prayers, and more. The emotions and feelings can lead to disappointment and pain. These experiences cause our faith to feel more heavy than helpful, more inconsistent than inspiring, and more confusing than comforting. It’s hard to see God in the midst of brokenness.

When we care deeply about anything, we hold it close. We treasure that thing, and we do our best to protect, defend, and take care of it. That’s how God feels about us. He cares about us and the things that we care about. When we feel broken, the Lord wants to draw near to us.

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

As humans, we naturally tend to withdraw and retreat when we feel let down and disappointed. We want to hide our tears and our frustrations from God just as we do from people. We see our sadness as a sign of weak faith, forgetting that God welcomes the weary, heavy-laden, and the grieving (Matthew 11:28). But God knows all things, and he desires to be in those vulnerable moments with us. Having God near to us helps us endure, gives us peace, and enables us to move forward.

 Many stories in the bible consist of people who were broken, conflicted, or confused by what was happening in their lives. Hannah and Sarai struggled with infertility, Job lost everything in the blink of an eye, and Jesus himself dealt with heartbreak and betrayal by someone in his inner circle. Heartbreak is not foreign or new to God.

All of these things are painful. Loss, betrayal, and rejection are not fun. As we experience these feelings, which we will at some point, the best thing we can do is to be honest with God. Yes, He even hears the unspoken words that show up through our tears because He is all-knowing and knows how we feel before we even say anything. But there is something about pouring out our hearts to God that helps our relationship grow deeper. Anytime we open up and share our hearts, we build a level of trust and intimacy with God.

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3

 When we become desperate and find ourselves at the feet of Jesus, we become aware of his presence. It is in the pain that God meets us; He doesn’t abandon us.  God hears us, and he sees us. As Job cried out to the Lord when he lost everything, he was honest and open. The language was raw and direct, but he also remembered who God was in the midst of his pain. He remembered both the promises of God and the character of God. When we cry out to God in the midst of our troubles, He remains gentle with us and reminds us that he is still holding us, he still sees us, and he is always with us.

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. Psalms 22:24

We can be confident that God will be our comfort through His presence. He brings the peace that makes no sense and the strength we didn’t know we had. The Bible tells us to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). It is His power that gives us strength and His grace that sustains us. Sometimes, we may not have the words to describe it, and others might not understand, but God does.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3

God is gracious and compassionate towards us, and so should we be. Anything that needs healing takes time. Some days will feel lighter, and some days the pain may linger. In his perfect timing, our hearts will mend, and day by day we will learn to settle our minds, trust deeper, and rest in his sovereignty.

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1 :3-4

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