They say time heals a broken heart, yet why do some people never seem to recover? Some cling to brokenness as they consciously or unconsciously believe it serves a purpose. Others doubt healing is possible, even by the Lord. Yet as we shared last time, God allows our hearts to be broken, and He can fix them too! As His Word makes clear, there is definitely a part we play to facilitate His healing:
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all. – Psalm 34:17-19
God heals the “contrite,” but what does this mean? The word means “crushed,” “smashed” or “ground into powder.” So let’s crush ourselves and work up as much regret and remorse as possible, right? No, contrition means to crush or be done with our coping skills and self-improvement and to fully embrace and lean on God’s strength and ways. It’s about total dependence on Him! There are several key ways we cooperate with His healing process, we’ll start with the most important:
Forgive as you’re forgiven.
When Jesus forgave our sins, He forgave an incredible amount of sin. Go here to find out how and why He can forgive us. After forgiving us, He asks us to forgive others just as He forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). You might be thinking:
- But you don’t understand how horrible so-and-so was/is to me.
- But you don’t realize how badly the cancer doctors messed up. (I can relate.)
- But you don’t get how everyone abandoned me during my greatest need.
You’re right, I probably don’t, but God knows, and He’s still asking you to forgive ALL. Granted, forgiveness seems impossible in some cases and we will certainly need God’s power to forgive. Fortunately, His grace is always sufficient to enable us to do whatever He asks. This is how He begins to “bind up our wounds.”
Psalms 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Lord, I step out in faith, trusting You for the power to forgive all others – no matter what they did to me – like Christ forgave me.
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