The other day on my daily prayer walk, a heart-shaped piece of blacktop caught my eye. Naturally, I had to bend down and pick it up to add to my collection of heart reminders. Much to my dismay, the heart crumbled into three pieces as I picked it up. I thought, well, that is a first. I was a little saddened and disappointed when it crumbled, but then I had two thoughts.
The first was “break my heart for what breaks yours, God.” I thought it was from a Bible verse, which is not the case. The thought is a lyric in a song or two.
“Break my heart for what breaks yours, God.”
It is a thought worth pondering for a few minutes. What do you think breaks God’s heart?
- Sinners that don’t repent.
- The lost who have not heard the Good News of Jesus.
- Those in society who are marginalized.
- Division in the Body of Christ.
It is a good reminder for us to look at our priorities to see how God is calling us to minister to those in need. Everyone is important to God and, because of God’s love in us, we need to extend ourselves to others. May our hearts be softened to see people like God does and extend His compassion and love.
Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. Inspire me to step out in faith to minister to the least of my brethren. Amen.
A broken heart found on my walk on publishing day…God’s confirmation.
The second thought was…
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. –Psalm 34:18 (NLT)
Finding this particular heart was apropos as I was praying for a friend whose mother is dying. It was a God moment how I even found out about the situation earlier in the day. I thought of the heartbreak they were experiencing in finding out only a few weeks earlier about her late-stage cancer.
A few days later, this verse was a reminder for me as I was trying to process the unexpected health news about a person I have been praying for. He was diagnosed in late December with a brain tumor and has been in treatment. He just learned another tumor grew parallel to the original one in the last four weeks. My heart breaks for him and all his family, especially the young children he has.
If the answer to our prayers is not what we want, it is difficult, especially in life and death situations. We need to hold tight to our faith during these times.
Let’s look at the passages surrounding the original verse.
The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. –Psalm 34:17-19 (NLT)
What encouragement do we receive from here?
- When God’s children cry out to Him for help, He rescues them from their troubles.
- God is close to us when we are brokenhearted.
- He rescues our crushed spirits.
- The righteous face many troubles, but God comes to the rescue each time.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. –Psalm 51:17 (NLT)
This verse has a two-fold message. It gives us encouragement knowing God does not reject us when our spirits are broken. He is with us during the tough times and when things don’t go the way we want. What pleases God more than sacrifices is a humble heart who seeks Him even in the darkest trials. The other message is, if you seek God wholeheartedly when you sin and repent, He will grant you His mercy.
Photo courtesy of Lewis_Satini under Creative Common License (CC BY 2.0)
The next day when I went to church, my heart was still so heavy for my friend. The sermon reminded me to cling to God’s word for comfort. We need to find that calmness and peace, knowing God is in control as we commend each other to the Lord in trust.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. –Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. The Lord gives his people strength. He is a safe fortress for his anointed king. –Psalm 28:7-8 (NLT)
These verses remind us:
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- God is our refuge.
- God is our strength.
- God is our shield.
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- God is our ever-present help in trouble.
- We need to trust God with all our hearts.
- We have assurance God helps us.
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- Our heart is filled with joy knowing God is helping us.
- We sing songs of thanksgiving to God.
- God is a safe fortress.
May these thoughts encourage you this week during the difficult trials of this life.
Never stop praying and trusting the Lord.
He is always with us and over everything.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. –2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. –Psalm 147:3 (NIV)
Thank you for the reminder of our God is so sensitive to our heartbreaks. Also I’m still praying for him and his family during their trying times.
You are most welcome for the reminder, Bruce. It was a comforting reminder for me so I had to share. God is good with His perfect timing in our lives! Thank you for your willingness to pray. I am so grateful for all the prayers on my friend’s behalf. Blessings and prayers for you and your family as well. 🙂
Impeccable timing, Christine❤️…I was just saying earlier this week that I am heartbroken about a lost opportunity (2, really). The opportunities were lost because of a wound that needs binding (another fractured knee). He bound it up before and surely will bind it up again. Thanks for the reminder❤️
God is so good with His perfect timing! I am so sorry to hear about your two lost opportunities, Donna. It is difficult when our plans don’t work out as we expect or hope they do. Continued love and prayers for your healing. Blessings~
I am in agreement with Donna West – your timing was impeccable. I am broken hearted about discovering someone I had trusted had betrayed me about something close to my heart. I haven’t confronted the person yet but I need to keep praying about the situation.
Thanks for your messages.
Sandy
God is so good with perfect timing! I am glad the message ministered to you, too. It encouraged me. I am sorry to hear of the betrayal you are experiencing. My thoughts and prayers for healing are with you, Sandy.
Thanks for your post, Christine. I recently lost my mother in February due to colon cancer which was just discovered back in October. So we had four months to say goodbye as she declined rapidly. I’m still adjusting to her being gone. She was a health nut and we all thought she would live to be 100. But she only made it to 71, which is still I’m grateful for that long, but it was a shock to us all to see her go so soon and I miss her.
I am so sorry to learn of the sudden loss of your mother, Shari. I am grateful God ministered to you through the message. Death is never easy. Thank you for sharing and know that my thoughts and prayers are with you. May you continue to experience God’s comfort and love with you. God bless.
I love this! I’ve been praying and felt despair. My son has debilitating depression. I’ve had breast cancer twice in 6 years. I lost my oldest son.
So my faith has saved me over and over again ❤️🙏
Hello, Mary Jo… Thank you so much reading and for sharing how your faith has gotten you through such heart-ache. You are a living testament to God’s grace at work especially when we are brokenhearted. You are an inspiration that I am grateful to know. It is always a blessing to know people can relate to a reflection. God bless you and your family.