Hope for the Brokenhearted
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” Psalm 34:18.
The Lord has a great blessing in store for those who are experiencing loss, are grief-stricken and broken- hearted. And that blessing is His closeness and salvation. It’s in our suffering that we’re most likely to come to know Him as our Comforter, Healer, Deliverer, Strength, Peace and so much more.
To read the whole chapter to get context, click here .
But, of course, whenever the Lord wants to bless us, the devil is right there ready to steal it.
The greatest gifts of broken heartedness in my own experience have been to gain maturity, deliverance from sin, power in prayer, revelation and promises for my life. In fact, the greater the loss and grief, the more I’ve experienced these things.
Times of Loss and Grief and also Times of Temptation
But anyone who’s suffered at all knows that times of loss and grief are also times of great temptation. This is when we’re most tempted with depression, self-pity, anger, bitterness, rebellion and loss of control.
There’s always a price to pay for anything valuable. The Pearl of Great Price, which is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God is a perfect example (Mathew 13: 45, 46).
It’s not likely we’ll ever experience the awesome nearness of God like we will when we’re heart broken. These difficult times are an incredible opportunity.
This is the hope for the brokenhearted.
Pain can/should bring about spiritual blessings (maturity, deliverance from sin, power in prayer, greater sensitivity to God’s voice etc.). “Spiritual blessings” are just another way to say wisdom. And spiritual blessings (wisdom) ultimately translate into natural blessings. Proverbs 3:16 tells us “Long life is in her [wisdom’s] right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor”.
The reason this is true is because we’ll only be as blessed as we are mature enough to handle it. And the way we mature is by obedience. In other words, as we resist temptation. Loss and grief are fraught with temptation. And therefore, replete with opportunities to mature.
The Dragon Wants to Devour Our Blessing
If we’re not careful though, the devil will devour every blessing the Lord intended for us in our pain.
“She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. . . The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born” Revelation 12: 2,4.
Whenever we’re in pain, it’s because we’re about to give birth. We’re on the verge of bearing fruit. We’re about to gain strength and maturity. And we’re poised to receive insight into God’s nature and ways. That is if we can continue through our heartache in faith and obedience. If we can endure in our love walk.
But what often happens instead is that we yield to the temptation to be angry and bitter. We surrender to self-pity and depression. We lose control. When we give in to temptation, the dragon has come to devour our child. And we’ve lost the opportunity to gain from our pain.
More Hope for the Brokenhearted
Here’s hope for the brokenhearted: Everything we experience in life is a blessing, an opportunity for gain, an expression of God’s love- either in the natural realm or in the spiritual realm. The natural blessings are obvious. And they are easy to see and receive. Some examples would be a successful career, good health and fulfilling relationships.
But the spiritual blessings are not as obvious. They require faith to see and embrace. That’s because they come as a result of loss and grief and a broken heart. The dragon can easily devour these for two reasons:
- They are the result of pain. And when we’re in pain, we’re weak so it’s easy to yield to temptation.
- They require faith to receive. In order to get them, we must resist temptation by believing and obeying the truth. We must walk by faith and not sight.
When we have pain, are grief-stricken or broken hearted, it’s because we’re in labor in a spiritual sense. That pain offers us a glorious opportunity for spiritual growth. And this ultimately translates into natural blessings (think wisdom).
And the cool thing is, it doesn’t matter what caused the pain. Often times it will be sin. But as long as we respond in faith and obedience, we will give birth to the child and end up greatly blessed anyway.
In God’s Economy There is Never Absolute Loss
In God’s economy, there is never absolute loss. Whenever we lose in one realm, it’s an opportunity to gain in the other. In other words, as long as we continue to walk in faith and obedience, we’re always gaining, always bearing fruit (either naturally or spiritually) and always blessed. No matter what we’re going through.
Loss and grief can be overwhelming. But that’s the only way we gain in the spiritual realm. And the spiritual realm is the foundation for all natural blessings. We’ll never be more blessed naturally then we are spiritually. Or if we are blessed without character, we won’t keep it for long.
It’s tragic if when we lose in the natural realm and are broken hearted, we lose in the spiritual realm too by yielding to temptation. Then we end up with nothing to show for our pain. It’s much like going through the agony of labor and then the baby is still born.
The Lord wants our pain to add something valuable to our lives. He wants us to gain something through it. And He also would like our pain to add something valuable to others. His desire is for us to use the deliverance and wisdom we’ve gained through our pain to help someone else.
And that’s about the most gratifying thing we could ever do. But that can only happen if we respond in faith and obedience. To read another post similar to Hope for the Brokenhearted, click here: Deconversion and the 3 Strands That Will Keep Your Faith Strong.
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