Ray Bentley - What Becomes of the Broken Hearted, Broken Dreams

What Becomes of the Broken Hearted

I heard that old song on the radio the other day and the lyrics rather haunted me. In this month of hearts and flowers, I know that there are many who did not celebrate the fun part of Valentine’s Day, but instead had to deal with all the things that old song speaks of: broken dreams, disillusion and confusion, not necessarily in the area of romance.

A broken heart is a wound to the soul, inflicted through loss, betrayal, misunderstandings, fear of the unknown. Circumstances at home, work, or in your community can so deeply affect you that you literally feel a pain in your chest and wonder how you will bear it. Sometimes we grieve for another’s sorrow or pain and make it our own.

I’ll tell you what becomes of too many broken hearted people. They hurt. They run, they try to cover their wounds with false bravado or phony optimism. They numb their pain with busy work, drugs, drink, entertainment…whatever works for a while.   But those things are temporary band-aids for a wound that needs deep cleansing and healing.

I’ll tell you what becomes of the broken hearted when they allow God’s Holy Spirit to reach into their hearts. Psalm 147:3: “He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.”

Does this happen in a second? Do the pain and the problems disappear at the utterance of a prayer? Not usually. Notice that the Scripture promises healing and binding. The binding process of a heart breaking wound is like caring for a physical trauma. Recognizing the nature of the wound, understanding what caused the damage, then cleansing the wound and ridding it of infection are crucial to the process.

When we come to the Lord for comfort and healing, we can be sure that He will do a similar work in our hearts. No quick band-aids and temporary pain relief. Rather, a deep, life-changing work of the Holy Spirit will drive us closer to God, our Great Physician. He will take us to the foot of the Cross, where His blood was poured out for the very sins that inflict such pain and heartache upon the world. He will expose this wound for what it is, root out its causes and cleanse us from the infection of bitterness and sin.

In the midst of it all, God sends His Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Remember how your mom used to hold your hand or kiss your “ouwies” while she medicated and cleaned your scraped knees and elbows? That’s what the Comforter does. The Spirit holds our hands and lets us know we are loved as we go through this process, reminding us that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28)!

And then blessed relief!   His promises are true. He will bind and heal our wounds. And from the depths of our tender and healing heart, He can now begin to manifest the attributes of His Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience and all the gifts God wants us to have. All the reasons He allows such trials into our lives.

St. Augustine once wrote, “Let God cover your wounds, do not do it yourself. For if you wish to cover them, because you are ashamed, the Physician will not come. Let Him cover; for by the covering of the Physician the wound is healed; by covering the wound yourself, the wound is merely concealed. And from whom? From Him who knows all things.”

What becomes of the broken hearted?   In God’s kingdom, only good things.

May those of you whose hearts are burdened and broken find peace and comfort in God’s Word, and may you experience His loving touch.

God bless you,
Ray Bentley