"Father, Please Heal My Broken Heart!"

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"Father, Please Heal My Broken Heart!"

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"How can you mend this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart,

And let me live again."

These lyrics from a popular song of the 70s, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" by the Bee Gees, can certainly make us reflect on our own broken hearts.

Do you have a broken heart now, or have you had your heart broken in the past? Many of us have known what it means to have a huge gaping hole in our hearts left by someone or some set of circumstances. We wondered whether this hole could ever be filled or if we'd be left with that empty hollow in our hearts forever.

There can be many reasons why we are left with a broken heart—the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, loss of status, loss of health, betrayal by a friend, loss of a child and, yes, loss of your childhood. Any of these can leave us a broken man or woman.

Along with enormous blessings in my own life, I've also experienced great sorrow. The greatest sorrow of all was the loss of my childhood and never knowing what a loving father is like.

I never heard my father say, "I love you" or "I'm proud of you." I never experienced what it's like to feel secure, with a strong father in my life protecting me and keeping me safe. This reality has left a hole in my heart—an emptiness that I once felt could never be filled.

Hope for healing the heartache

Even though we have these holes in our hearts, I am here to tell you that there is hope for you and me and all the brokenhearted. There is hope for those who sorrow, because we have access to a Healer who will mend our broken hearts. As Psalm 147:3 tells us, God "heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." He wants to heal us of all of our wounds!

What is a wound? If you've ever had an injury or a deep cut, you know how painful it is and how it hurts to be touched. Often sorrow and loss are like deep wounds. They can be so painful that it seems nothing or no one can make the pain go away. Sometimes our heart is so broken that we can't even express the words, and nothing seems to help.

Like a deep wound, a broken heart will not heal overnight. As some medicines burn when we apply them to a skin wound, so can the words of a well-meaning friend burn when he or she says the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Who wants to pour rubbing alcohol on an open wound? When we injure ourselves, we search the stores to find an ointment that will not burn but will provide relief. It's the same way with our broken heart. We need the right ointment to bring about healing.

So what's the right ointment for hurting hearts? How do we begin to heal? How can the gaping hole in our hearts begin to close? Here are some steps that can help.

Recognize the pain and understand it is okay to hurt. Sometimes we seek to cover the pain by ignoring it or through other means like the use of alcohol or drugs, which will cause us to become infected and will reverse the healing process. Like a deep skin wound, we must apply the right ointment so we can begin to heal, or else it can become infected and get worse. We cannot ignore our pain and think it will go away.

Understand that it is okay to hurt. We try to push the hurt away, but we can't. The hurt isn't outside of us—it's inside. So, in our attempt to push the hurt away, we actually push the hurt deeper inside. We then can spend the rest of our lives running from this suppressed hurt.

By suffering through our hurts, we are a part of the human race—millions of people are going through similar pains. It's during this time that we need a lot of love, encouragement and hope restored. We realize how frail we are and see our great need for God.

Times like these are when we should reflect on the purpose and meaning of life. They're the greatest opportunity to help us draw close to God. They also provide an opportunity to learn empathy toward others who are going through the same things. You can't do all of these things if you try to ignore the pain.

Seek the Healer. Seek God as your Healer! Just as you tell a doctor your symptoms, tell God how much you've been wounded and need His healing touch. He will hear the cries of the broken.

God the Father wants to reach down, take your hand and walk you through your pain. It may take weeks. It may take months. For many of us it will take years, perhaps even a lifetime, to close the wounds of our hearts completely. God will spend as much time and as many years as necessary to help you through it.

He wants to gently apply the daily salve or ointment of His Holy Spirit to your heart until it is healed. I know this because He has done it with me. When I'm down, He lifts me up in many different ways. He's there for me to cry on His shoulder, so to speak, and then sends His encouraging Spirit to get me back up and going again.

Ancient Israel's King David said in Psalm 56:8, "You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?" God was so aware of David that He even figuratively collected his tears. In the same way God is involved with us and aware of our pain, our joys, our failures, our accomplishments.

When Judah's King Hezekiah was stricken with sickness and facing death, he poured out his heart to God. God heard him and saw his tears. Moved with compassion, God sent a message to Hezekiah by the prophet Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you'" (2 Kings 20:5).

God saw Hezekiah's tears. Understand that God can be closer to us when the pain is great than at any other times in our lives.

Returning to David, he was a man who faced many trials and heartaches. And he wrote in Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (New International Version). Ask and receive God's love and encouragement, because He is very near to you. God can work with a heart that has a hole in it, because the need is so great for it to be filled.

Reach out to others. As God has reached out to us, so we should be instruments of God to reach out and help others who are in pain. The apostle Paul praised God as "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Ask God to use you to encourage others through their pain. By your own pain you will be able to understand and help in a far greater way. Jesus Christ our Savior was tested in every way just as we are and understands all that you go through (Hebrews 4:15). He reached out to us by giving His life so that we would be healed.

Isaiah 61:1-3 discusses Jesus Christ's mission: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor" (NIV).

This will not come to pass in full until Christ returns to earth to establish His Kingdom here, but in the meantime we should make it our mission to follow this example and be instruments of healing by taking the time to care for those who are in pain and hurting. By reaching out to others, our own pain will begin to disappear; the holes in our hearts will begin to close.

Healing takes time

It takes time to heal. In my life I still have a hole in my heart after many years, but it's much smaller now because of God. Every time I feel His presence, every time I see His intervention in my life, every time I reach out to someone else, every time He grants me blessings, the hole in my heart gets smaller and is being replaced with His own heart.

When our Heavenly Father eventually comes to this earth, the hole in our hearts and in mankind's hearts will be filled and mended. There will be no more tears, no more pain, no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4)—and no more holes to fill in an empty heart. For all our hearts will be filled with God's Spirit.

As Psalm 126:5 promises, "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." God will heal all broken hearts. We will no longer feel sad for what we lacked in this physical life because God will fill our hearts and make us complete!

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Comments

  • Sheila53

    I came across your blog while searching for answers of WHY God let’s you down even tho you TRUSTED Him with all your being & why does He not love me? What have I done to deserve this life? My life has no meaning!!! I feel my spirit has been broken & no longer even close to being who I once was!!
    It has been exactly 20 years my husband walked out of our 25+ yr marriage. I was totally blindsided it as we had a good marriage and best friends for 30 yrs.
    I still prayed so very hard and I truly trusted God with “mustard seed faith” - there was NO doubt in my mind He wasn’t going to answer my cries & PLEAS & restore our marriage.
    I pleaded with husband for at least a second chance!! I asked why ‘bc I had rededicated my life to Lord. He snarled”maybe!” I didn’t realize he was having an affair w/ married coworker.
    Her husband & I were forced into divorces we did not want!!GOD didn’t see fit for me to bring someone into my lifeYet what has hurt the MOST is WHY DID GOD ALLOW IT?? I was serving Him & trusted Him. NOW -our 37 yr old daughter has stage 4 cancer that I face ALONE- It is almost too much to bear especially feeling forsaken by Him is beyond anguish! 20 + years of HEARTBREAK!

  • Lena VanAusdle

    Oh Sheila,
    how awful, I am so very sorry to hear the trials you have been facing. I think Janet is correct, fortunately God gives all people freewill, including your husband. We can pray that people will change, but ultimately it is the individual's choice. It may not seem like it, but God is with you, He has promised to "never leave you, nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).

  • Janet Treadway

    Shelia, I cannot even imagine. I know my first 20 years of life was nightmare. It was not fair because I did not have a normal childhood. Eight foster homes and two children's homes. It was traumatic for me as a 4 year old to look back out the car window as the car drove away from my mother. When my twin brother and I was returned to my natural parents, at 14, I understood why we were taken away. My father was brutal and beat me up many times. I finally fled at the age of 19. My church took me in. Turns out God saved my life by me being placed in foster care. What prodded me to flee at 19 is when he placed a loaded gun to my head to kill me. I froze and prayed and here I am today. Sadly, we suffer because of other people and their sins. You are suffering because of your husband. I will pray for your daughter. I can relate to others who are going through the things I did and encourage them. Even Christ at a moment felt forgotten and asked “Father why have you forsaken me?” in John 14:27 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled! You are special to God! God will see you through this as He did me!

  • Skip Miller

    Thanks Janet,
    Skip Miller

  • HOPE

    I am so glad I saw this Website, I don't think it was by mistake or coincidence but God's way of leading, I too have my own share of this pain of a wounded heart, and I have been searching for answer's which I realized some questions really have no answers,it lead us too completely surrender and to trust God.I needed inner spiritual healing because I believed everything follows when you attain that.I pray too God to keep me patient for that time. Reading all the comments here uplift my spirit and makes my day lighter. For everybody thank you for toughing another soul.

  • Janet Treadway

    Hope it was encouraging to read your comments. Our readers need this.

  • faithfulgirl

    Thank you so very much sabrina

  • Sabrina Peabody

    Hi Faithful Girl,

    I am sorry to hear of your struggle. Long distance relationships can be hard because of the amount of effort required to continue positive meaningful communication. I would pray about it and maybe consider having a heart to heart with him to discuss both of your needs. Your friends and family who know you best may also be good resources to ask for advice.

  • faithfulgirl

    Good afternoon all.. please help me..i need help.. how can i heal my broken heart? me and my long distance boyfriend is not good right now. My boyfriend changed alot now..he is too different now i dont know why.. he is not like that before.. and now he ignored me.. i sent him alot of messages but he didnt send me back a message for almost 4 days now.. i dont know what to do.. he is the love of my life and i feel like i cant live without him.. he is my happiness.. he told me before that no matter what happened i wont give up... i dont know what to do now coz i feel like he's giving up on me.. is he sick and tired of me now? Please help me.. its soo hurt when he's ignoring me.. should i wait for him or should i let him go? please help me i really dont know what to do.. Hope you guyz can help me.. Thank you so much!!

    Sincerely,
    Faithful Girl

  • KARS

    Reaching out to others comes in many forms but must be done within the Ten Commandments of God our Father.

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