By Chris WittsSaturday 12 Dec 2015Morning Devotions with Chris WittsDevotionsReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Billy Graham tells of a person who wrote to him – Henry, loyal to the core and dependable, had worked for the same company for more than 30 years and was close to retirement. His pension was to be the major part of his living expenses. Then, due to a change in company management, Henry was given his severance notice. He went home, a broken man, too shocked to know what to do next.
Maybe you’ve had a similar experience – a broken heart. You don’t know what to do next. Many people suffer from a broken heart. This deep grief that crushes our spirit can be caused by many of life’s circumstances.
The Bible talks about the anguish of the ‘broken hearted’. “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted, and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.” Psalm 34:18 (NCV)
Remember life is always a process – but how you to choose to handle the process will determine where you end up. It’s about choices. Allow God to enter your life today through the person of Jesus Christ. He has the power to heal and restore, even from the worst experiences or memories. Nothing is too hard for Him.
Another promise, this time from the NT – “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” Hebrews 13:5.
Jesus was a man who did exactly what He said He would do. When He said that He had come to heal the broken-hearted, that is exactly what He did. He said in Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.“
One day, Jesus and many of His disciples came to a city called Nain. As was common, a large crowd gathered to Him. As they arrived at the gate of the city, a funeral procession was taking place. The dead man was the only son of his mother and she was a widow. The crowd that was proceeding to the burial was overtaken by grief. They cared deeply for the poor woman who had suffered the loss of her husband and now her only son. He was a young man that they all thought had a long life ahead of him.
They found no way to comfort or console her. She was broken-hearted and now she was alone. She could see no hope for the way ahead. A widow in those days was absolutely dependent on her family for food, clothing and housing. Now her only remaining loved one was dead. Her only form of provision was dead. She would have felt that she would be better off dead herself. These are the symptoms of a broken heart. There’s no reason for going on, no purpose for living and absolutely no hope.
When the Lord saw this broken-hearted lady, He had compassion for her. Compassion is much more than just sympathy. Compassion involves participation. Jesus loved and cared enough about this woman and her circumstances that He was both willing and able to heal her broken heart. Jesus came to the open coffin and touched it. He spoke to the widow’s dead son saying, ‘Young man I say to you, arise’. Immediately, life came into his dead body causing him to sit up and speak.
Imagine what flowed through the heart of the widow when Jesus presented her son alive to her. Immediately, her broken heart was healed. Her sorrow was turned to joy and her mourning into dancing. The words of Jesus had brought life out of death. In the words of Jesus there is life and there is eternal healing. He has the words of eternal life.
There are many kinds of broken hearts. Hearts are broken through disappointment. Hearts are broken when loved ones die. Hearts are broken in many ways. But Christ is good at healing all kinds of broken hearts. “Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”. Jesus has been healing broken hearts for thousands of years! No one has ever come to Jesus and been turned away because their condition is too bad. Jesus never refuses anyone who comes to Him .