Today we’re going to look at how to heal a broken heart. Jesus teaches how to be happy in spite of our circumstances,
How many of you can remember your first broken heart? Mine was in 7th grade and her name was Angela. Her name is a form of the word angel. A fallen angel! She dumped me. Puppy love? It was real for the puppy! I was later to learn that puppy love leads to a dog’s life!
Don’t you wish all the heartbreaks were as easy as 7th grade? The fact is, as you grow older, life is tough and there are a lot worse heartbreaks than 7th grade.
The Bible never tries to explain suffering. But what it does teach us is how to handle it. Jesus said in Matthew 5:4 “Happy are those who mourn, God will comfort them.” How can I be happy after a loss, after a broken heart? By receiving the comfort of God.
- WHY DOES MOURNING BRING COMFORT?
- Mourning shows that I care deeply.
- Mourning connects me to God.
- Jesus mourns.
“As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” Luke 19:41-42
“ When Jesus saw her weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. Jesus wept. John 11:34-35
“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” Isaiah 53:3
- When I mourn, I seek comfort.
- What brings me comfort?
The word “comfort” comes from the word “confortus” — Old English “with strength”. God wants to strengthen you and give you comfort.
b. The Bible says there is only one Comforter.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles.”
- Biblical Comfort (parakleo) – to come beside
· Our Options: Distraction or Comfort
“God himself will be with them and He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” Rev 21:3-4
- EXPERIENCING GOD’S COMFORT
Today I want to tell you how you experience the comfort of God.
- Remember God is with me.
When we’re hurting we forget where God is. We think He seems distant or that He doesn’t care. But the fact is He’s there. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God is with you in your pain.
You need to remember three things when you’re in pain:
- God knows
Job says, “You keep a close watch on all my paths.” God is watching over you. Nothing escapes His eye. The Bible says your very tears, every tear you’ve cried is numbered. Some of you say, “Nobody knows what I’m going through.” God knows. God cares.
- God cares
“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” We have a sympathetic heavenly Father who really cares. Your pain matters to God. It really does. You can talk to Him about your hurt.
- God helps
“Let us approach God with confidence, so we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” God not only offers us awareness, He offers us assistance. God not only cares about your hurt, He wants to help you with your hurt. He doesn’t just write you a note, “I’m thinking of you in this time.”
Some people grow through their pain and some people get stuck in their pain. Some people go on through their hurt and some get stuck in their hurt and never get past it. Why? Because they never take the second step. Step one, realize that God is with me. He cares, He’s aware, He wants to help me. If I just said that — that God is with you in your pain — that would be enough. But how do you get on out of the pain and get on with life?
- Strive for Lasting Comfort
Ways to Manage Grief:
- False Comfort – ignoring my grief
If you pretend it doesn’t exist and hold it in — that’s unhealthy. I meet walking wounded all of the time because they’ve never let go of their hurt.
- No Comfort – torturing myself
They go over and over it in their mind. They torture themselves by thinking about it over and over. God says, Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t let it consume your thoughts. There’s a big difference between mourning and moaning. Mourning is legitimate grief. Moaning is “Oh, poor me! Poor me!” And you want to keep a hold of it. You’re having a pity party.
- Lasting Comfort – healing, learning, channeling
Release the hurt to God. What do you do with the anger inside? When we loose something or something is taken away from us we’re angry at the person who took it away. What do I do with that anger? Turn it into constructive use. Use that energy to help other people. A good example of that is M.A.D.D. — Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Angry, and they had every right to be angry, because children, husbands or whatever were killed by a drunk driver. But they channeled that anger in a right way to try to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road. That’s a legitimate use of anger. If you’re mourning, in grief, hurting, realize that God is with you. He’s close to the brokenhearted. If you’re in mourning today, if you’re hurting today, God has never been closer to you. Realize that He is aware, He cares and He wants to help you. Give Him the hurt. Release it to Him. Don’t dwell on the past, don’t resent it and don’t rehearse it and don’t repress it. Release it to God. Let Him have it.
- Rely on God’s Resources
Rely on God’s resources to comfort you. “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” How do I be happy in the midst of trial and tragedy? Receive God’s comfort. God uses three things to comfort us. It’s amazing what some people try to be comforted by. Some people take pills. Some people get drunk. Some people try affairs. Some people watch TV all the time. Some people read novels, fantasize in novels. Some people sleep all the time. All trying to get rid of all the pain in their life. God says, Don’t do those things. They are just quick fixes, they don’t last.
What are the comforters that God uses? We’ll look at those in the next post.
Darrell
Upwards Church 