To All the Broken Hearts

Dear Heart,

I am writing to you, inspired that somewhere out there someone else would need the same encouragement I have needed and longed for during times of brokenness. I know that no one knows how you feel, exactly. Who could know the weight of every burden and the haunting of every cold fear?

But, I do want you to know you are not alone. Do not give up. Do not give in. Do not shut down. It’s so easy to naturally close yourself off to all relationships when someone hurts you. It’s easy to put up walls so you don’t get hurt again. But, not every person is going to do the same thing that people in your past have done. In fact, it is probably hard to face the thought of being disappointed or left one more time. It is probably easy to think of a nice warm bed to curl up in to go to sleep in, instead of facing the day. I know that some days it is just easier to think of running away, cutting ties and throwing all your responsibility to the wind. But, today isn’t that day.

Heart, you are fearfully made by God to love. You are made by God to experience the beauty of relationships. You are made by God to commune with other people and with God himself. The hurt is equal to the beauty. There is beauty left in this world and it is found in Christ.

Jesus wants to love you. He does love you, but he wants you to give him permission to get close. He wants a relationship with you that you are afraid of, because people always hurt you. He has watched your every moment~ every second of your life he has experienced with you. Don’t forget, beautiful soul, that our Lord Jesus experienced every pain from rejection, abuse and fear that you felt when he hung on the cross.

Jesus intentionally exposed himself to the elements to come into your world, to feel your pain, to know your loss and to take your punishment for sin on the cross. He is not a fabrication of your imagination. He is not too good to be true. He IS true. He IS love. He embodies everything good, honest, healing and amazing that this world has to offer.

Jesus was despised and rejected by men. Jesus was abandoned by his best friends who ran away when the going got tough. Jesus was betrayed by a confidant. Betrayed to death. Jesus was lied about. Jesus was rejected by family and friends. Jesus was scorned by those he came to save.

Jesus is the lover of your soul. Trust in his love. Trust in Jesus’s power to raise you up from your pain. Oh heart….I see you lying and wounded and hiding. You are hoping that no one notices you. You just want a break from the reality. You are afraid to go back out into the real world, because in the real world, people get hurt. Jesus is ready to heal you. Jesus wants to give you a future and a hope. He has a purpose for your life. He is ready and waiting.

Why do you run from him? Do you think he will be hard on you? Do you think he will accuse you of wanting to hide? Do you think he will be angry with you or are you afraid of facing the pain again, even with Jesus?

Every day you do things to numb the pain. You eat, you drown yourself in social media, you look for escape in the pleasures of this life. Maybe you beat yourself up. Maybe you wonder if anyone will ever really love you. You may be thinking about leaving a post that God has given you to stand your ground in. He needs you there. He has appointed you for such a time as this. You are valuable to him. He loves you.

Take time to forgive. Take time to talk to God, even if it’s just saying, “God, I can hardly think. I can hardly pray. Help my unbelief. I am so tired of hurting. I need your deliverance.”

Dear heart, there is hope on the other side. There is power in Jesus name. You may feel listless, you may feel anxious. But, remember that God will never leave your or forsake you. Jesus never ever promised that life with him means no problems. He never hid the fact that you would need to go through storms. But, he did promise that he would be with you through the storms.

Dear heart, take time to rest. Take time to make room for healing. You cannot heal in hiding. Come out and experience God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness. God isn’t finished with you!

If you have felt this way and God has delivered you, leave a message for someone feeling down!