“The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure…
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
Psalm 147:2-5, 10-11
As I read these verses this morning, it is impressed on my heart the wonder of who our God is. I know the living God, the Creator of the universe who determines the number of the stars, and He gathers the outcasts to Himself. He heals the brokenhearted. He binds up their wounds. He is pleased not with our strength or abilities, but with our obedience, our respect, and our hope in His love.
There are so many broken hearts around us. I recently began a new position, working in a ministry that continually reminds me of the brokenness of our world and the desperate need for the love of God to enter in. There are men, women, and children who have never known unconditional love and acceptance, individuals who search for someone who will love them not because of what they can contribute, and not based on their ability to fulfill expectations, but love that is given simply for the sake of loving them.
“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8a). Our Lord loves us because He has chosen to do so. And as He is unchangeable, once He has set His love on you and chosen you, He will never change His mind. It is immovable. This is the hope we are to extend. This is the kind of love we are to display. It is not the hope or love of a world that shifts and changes based on emotion and circumstance, but hope that is steadfast because it is placed in Christ our Savior, and love that overflows from a heart filled with the love of God Himself.
The brokenhearted, the outcasts, those who have been rejected and seen the inconsistency of this world’s version of “love,” crave healing from those deep wounds. They long to know a love that is truly steadfast. Their hearts were designed to be filled with the only love that will never fail and never leave them. I pray that my life, and the life of everyone who knows Christ, will demonstrate the compassion and strength of our Lord. May we experience His healing power and steadfast love in our own lives, and seek to reach out to those who have been cast aside and broken, showing them love and acceptance and introducing them to the One who will love them forever, and who will heal them and save them to the uttermost.
In Pleasant Places 