GOD’S WORD O BROKENHEARTED

GOD’S WORD O BROKENHEARTED  

WHAT CAUSES GOD TO BE BROKENHEARTED?

Ezekiel 6:9 . . . Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how grieved I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for other gods. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their wickedness.

An unfaithful heart breaks God’s heart.

Isaiah 53:3 . . . He was despised and rejected-a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care.

Indifference to Jesus breaks God’s heart.

Psalm 116:15 . . . The Lord’s loved ones are precious to him; it grieves him when they die.

John 11:33-38 . . . When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, he was moved with indignation and was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him.” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Why couldn’t he keep Lazarus from dying?” And again Jesus was deeply troubled.

Isaiah 63:9-10 . . . In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit.

Our suffering and our rebellion break God’s heart.

HOW DOES GOD USE OUR BROKEN HEARTS?

Joel 2:13 . . . Don’t tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.

Our broken hearts can lead us to God. Humility is a good starting place on the road to God.

James 4:9 . . . Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

Lamentations 1:20 . . . Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.

Psalm 51:17 . . . 

The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 . . . Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.

Our broken hearts can lead us to a realization, confession and repentance of sin. 

When our hearts break, they sometimes reveal the sin within and the need for the Lord to wash that sin away.

Psalm 51:8-12 . . . Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me-now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Psalm 30:11 . . . You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.

Our broken hearts can lead to rejoicing hearts.

2 Corinthians 1:4 . . . He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:6 . . . When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.

Our broken hearts can help us comfort others. In our brokenness, we understand others who are broken.

HOW DOES GOD REACT TO THE BROKENHEARTED?

Psalm 34:18 . . . The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.

Lamentations 3:32 . . . Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion according to the greatness of his unfailing love.

Psalm 10:17 . . . Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.

Psalm 119:76 . . . Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.

Isaiah 51:12 . . . I, even I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear?

Psalm 147:3 . . . He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.

2 Corinthians 7:6 . . . God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

Matthew 5:4 . . . God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

The Lord comforts the brokenhearted by his presence, his compassion, his listening, his love, is healing, his encouragement and his blessing. Do you need more?

HOW SHOULD WE REACT WHEN WE ARE BROKENHEARTED?

Psalm 143:7-8 . . . Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Don’t turn away from me, or I will die. Let me hear of your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer.

Psalm 130:1 . . .From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.

Call to the Lord for his help. He can heal our broken hearts.

Psalm 119:28, 50, 52, 92 . . . I weep with grief; encourage me by your word. . . . Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles. . . . I meditate on your age-old laws; O Lord, they comfort me. . . . If your law hadn’t sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery.

Psalm 19:8 . . . The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight to life.

We are to look to the Word of God for help.

Mark 14:34-36 . . . He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”

Luke 6:28 . . . Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

We are to look to God in honest prayer. Prayer puts us in touch with the source of all healing.

Ecclesiastes 3:4 . . . A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

2 Corinthians 2:4 . . . How painful it was to write that letter! Heartbroken, I cried over it. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I wanted you to know how very much I love you.

Acts 20:37 . . . They wept aloud as they embraced him in farewell.

Brokenhearted people need the freedom to express their emotions. Sometimes by getting it out, we put it away.

HOW CAN WE HELP OTHER BROKENHEARTED PEOPLE?

Psalm 69:20 . . . Their insults have broken my heart, and I am in despair. If only one person would show some pity; if only one would turn and comfort me.

We can give our attention, empathy and comfort to the brokenhearted. Insults and cruel words are abrasive, wounding the heart. Attention, empathy and comfort are therapeutic, healing the heart.

Proverbs 15:13 . . . A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.

Job 30:16 . . . My heart is broken. Depression haunts my days.

Proverbs 17:22 . . . A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

We can be aware of the effects of being brokenhearted on a person’s spirit, mind and body. Awareness leads to sympathy; sympathy leads to empathy; empathy leads to helping the wounded, and that leads to a time of healing.

Romans 12:15 . . . When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow.

We can share in others’ sorrow as surely as we can share in their joy.

2 Corinthians 1:4 . . . He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

We can share our experiences of God’s comfort. In the pattern of God’s healing, others may find healing in us.

1 Peter 5:12 . . . I have written this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I consider a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that the grace of God is with you no matter what happens.

We can encourage the brokenhearted. Words of comfort can lift up the hurting person.

Job 21:34 . . . “How can you comfort me? All your explanations are wrong!”

Job 16:2 . . . “I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters you are!”

We can be careful with the words we use to the brokenhearted. Explanations and cliches are rarely comforting. Love, sympathy, and the power of our presence are urgently needed. Sometimes the best comfort we can give is to just be there.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 . . . We have been greatly comforted, dear friends, in all of our own crushing troubles and suffering, because you have remained strong in your faith.

Romans 1:12 . . . I’m eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other.

We can remain strong in our own faith. Those weakened by hurt are encouraged to see those strengthened by overcoming their hurt.

Job 42:11 . . . Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring.

Psalm 68:6 . . . God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But for rebels, there is only famine and distress.

Mark 16:10 . . . She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping.

As family and friends, we can support one another. Family life must be a safe haven from a wounding world.

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 BROKENNESS, GOD’S WORD ON

WHY IS BROKENNESS AN IMPORTANT ATTITUDE FOR US TO DEVELOP?

Psalm 51:17 . . . The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise.

God wants us to be brokenhearted about our sin.

Psalm 147:3 . . . He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds.

When we turn to God in brokenness over our sin, he begins to heal us and restore us.

Job 2:8-10 . . . Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

The alternative to brokenness before God is bitterness, which leads to death.

Isaiah 66:2 . . . I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word.

Even when there is no sin to require a broken attitude, God will bless us when we maintain our brokenness-our deep humility and dependence on him.

HOW DO WE ACHIEVE AN ATTITUDE OF BROKENNESS?

Job 42:5-6 . . . I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.

Brokenness comes in response to the realization of God’s holiness and our own sinfulness.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND WHEN OUR HEARTS ARE BROKEN?

Psalm 61:1-2 . . . O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I will cry to you for help, for my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.

Lamentations 1:20 . . . “Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs, for I have rebelled against you. In the streets the sword kills, and at home there is only death.”

When we experience deep grief, it is always right for us to fall before God with an attitude of brokenness.

PROMISE FROM GOD:

Psalm 34:18 . . . The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 31:7 . . . I am overcome with joy because of your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 40:2 . . . He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

2 Corinthians 1:3 . . . All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us