“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite (desiring forgiveness) spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” –
Psalm 147:3
“Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear!
Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will
come and save you.” – Isaiah 35:4
My wife and I just watched a documentary on the life of Audrey
Hepburn. An Actress was loved by so many and so successful in the eyes of the world.
People loved who they saw on the movie screen – forgetting that she was an
actress – and like all other actors – she was – well – acting a part. But the
documentary revealed Audrey Hepburn the person. What we saw was a woman who
struggled with wounds of the heart which affected virtually all of her
relationships. Someone with a broken
heart who had a smile on her face.
We can hide our hearts from people – at least from most people who don’t really
know us – but not from God. If only Audrey met Jesus along the way – He sees all of us for what we are – deep inside. For Audrey Hepburn, a wounded child seeking what she had
been denied – that thing that always seemed to be just beyond her grasp.
I would hazard to say that most, if not all, of us live with wounded
hearts. Like I have said before – emotional wounds are not like physical
wounds. I have had a number of physical aches and pains – cuts and bruises –
sprains – but over time the pain subsided. I have a number of scars that remind
me of some of those hurts – but, I cannot feel the hurt. I only know that I had
it. Not so with my emotional wounds. Just the mention of an event can bring up the
pain it caused – I feel it – like the day it happened. I am reminded that it
hurt then and still does. Those memories make us sorrowful. We can pretend that is
doesn’t matter anymore, but the truth is that it has shaped us and our view of
the world. Just like it did for Audrey Hepburn. Fame and fortune, even acting, does not fix
that hurt.
Have you ever eaten a cake made with lard? Frankly I don’t care
for the taste – at least the taste of the cake I sampled. The cake did look wonderful. The icing was perfect – but one bite told me that the cake was not
like my momma used to make. Like that cake – people can look good on the
outside but there is something amiss on the inside.
There are some things in this life that people are instinctively drawn to – like
family. God has “programmed” the desire for family in every person – the desire to have a relationship with our mom and dad is in our DNA. To love and be loved. We want it more than we are likely to admit. When it is denied because
of death or divorce, we yearn for it – even if we are not willing to admit it to others or even ourselves. Just like Audrey Hepburn. So what to do?
The documentary said nothing about faith, I suppose because in the
minds of the people who put it together – faith had nothing to do with it. But
when it comes to wounds of the heart, faith has everything to do with it.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old
things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” – 2
Corinthians 5:17
God is able to heal the heart – if we will but yield the hurt to
Him and stop trying to fix it ourselves. I was reminded of a song – surprise!
“When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone.
When you're sure you've had enough Of this life, well, hang on
Don't let yourself go 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts
sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong. When your day is night alone (Hold on, hold
on) If you feel like letting go (Hold on) If you think you've had too much Of
this life, well, hang on.”
Everybody Hurts, Lyrics by Avril Lavigne
When I first heard that song, it spoke to my heart. Everybody has
hurts from life. And it is Jehovah Rapha, God who is our healer, that can mend our hearts. He can mend you heart – if you let Him. You will bear the scar, but the
pain that comes with the memory will be gone and can no longer be conjured up at the mention of the wound.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it –
Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His
Glory Alone
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