[Biblemat] S) HEALING BROKEN HEARTS

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

HEALING BROKEN HEARTS

     We speak of the heart as "broken" when one is overcome
with grief and despair.  Numerous things may cause a person
to feel crushed.

Reproach: -- David once said, "Thou has known my reproach
and my shame, and my dishonor: mine adversaries are all be-
fore Thee.  Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of
heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was
none; and for comforters, but I found none" (Psa. 69:19,20).

     Someone may be shamed, scandalized, and stigmatized
by his enemies.  Their aim is to tarnish his record and black-
en his reputation.  Although he is grief-stricken and weaken-
ed, the heavenly Father still cares and will lift him up.  With
David he can pray, "Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not
sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of
the deep waters" (Psa. 69:14).

False Teaching And Wickedness: -- When the good prophet
Jeremiah reflected on the prophets in his day who pursued
iniquity and prephesied falsely, his heart was broken.  "Mine
heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my 
bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom 
wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the
words of His holiness...For both prophet and priest are pro-
fane, yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith
the Lord" (Jer. 23:9-11).  When Jeremiah contrasted the wick-
ed ways of the religious leaders with the Lord's Holy Words,
his mind was agitated; he reeled and staggered within.

     Today, it breaks the hearts of the faithful to hear profess-
ed men of God corrupting the truth and to learn of wickedne-
ss of their lives.

Rejection: -- It broke the heart of Samuel to witness God's 
people loudly demanding a king to be like the nations about
them.  Displeased with their evil demand, he prayed to God
about it.  "And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the
voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they
have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I
should not reign over them" (1 Sam. 8:7).

     No one likes to feel rejected.  It is helpful to analyze the 
cause of the rebuff.  If one realizes that the fault lies with him-
self, he should make corrections.  If he is rejected because
he has dared to do right, let him take consolation in the fact
that Christ and the apostles were rejected by many for the 
same reason.  That kind of rejection is not personal but is
directed against principle and virtue.

Disappointment: -- A broken heart may result from discourag-
ment and depression due to failure.  Parents are brokenheart-
ed when their children go astray despite all the efforts that
have been made to train them and bring them up in the right
way.  A wife's heart is shattered when she learns tht her hus-
band is unfaithful to her.  Hearts are broken when people we
know and have loved and appreciated forsake the Lord.

     But the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5)
We must keep our faith centered in Him, not in frail human
beings.

     Whatever may be the cause of a broken heart, we should
remember that  Christ was sent "to heal the brokenhearted"
(Lk. 4:18).  Many who have broken hearts do not realize that
sin is the ultimate cause.  Through the forgiveness provided
by God's grace, and through the great and precious promises
of the gospel, our hearts can be healed.  The Great Physician
has both the remedy and the healing power.  He will bind up
our hearts and heal our wounds.  We must learn to cast all
our care upon Him, for He truly cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). -----
------- Irvin Himmel in Truth Magazine, Vol. 51, No. 3, March
2007.   </HTML>
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