Broken Hearts

I am doing the Bible Study Breaking Free by Beth Moore.

I read something today that I feel led to share.

This study is based around Isaiah 61:1-4.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." (NIV)

Today the focus was on the second part of verse 1: 

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted".

We have all experienced a broken heart at some point in our lives. 

The question is how do we handle it and deal with it.

The following is an excerpt from Breaking Free:

"Life's way of reacting to a crushed heart is to wrap tough sinews of flesh around it and tempt us to promise we'll never let ourselves get hurt again. That's not God's way. Remember, self-made fortresses built to protect our hearts not only keep love from going out but they keep love from coming in. We risk becoming captives in our own protective fortresses. Only God can put the pieces of our hearts back together again, close up all the wounds, and bind them with a porous bandage that protects from infection ... but keeps the heart free to inhale and exhale love."

Let that sink in for a minute, or read it again if you need to.

How many times when my heart has been broken have I thought to myself:

 "I won't let that happen again"? 

Or at the very least had the attitude that I would protect myself better the next time.

But, that is NOT God's way!

God doesn't want me to trapped in my fortress of protection.

He wants me to be free to experience His love and the love of others and pour love out.

God is the only one who can heal our broken hearts. 

No amount of self protection can put all the pieces back together.

Today, I choose to expose my broken heart to God, so that He can put it back together the way that He sees fit. If not, how can I ever be free to be fully effective for Him and His kingdom?

Today, I choose to longer be imprisoned by my self protection.

I pray that you will allow God to heal your broken heart too.