“He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3
This morning, reading these words, I am reminded of who God was to me in the season of my broken heart. Because He was more real and His presence more clearly felt than ever before…and that made the season beautiful and precious to me.
I’m not going to paint a rose-colored picture of it. It was unspeakably painful. And hard. With hits that seemed to just keep coming. But my God drew near to me. He showed me who He is. He saw me. And in those moments when no one else was around, He was there. My constant. My refuge when emotional and spiritual storms were raging. He kept me safe and secure.
And healing came.
Bringing with it life more abundant and flourishing, more free, than the life I knew before.
Yes, there was brokenness. There are still scars. But God’s light shines more brilliantly through the breaks. And our times of weakness highlight His great strength – that He really is able to carry us when the path feels too exhausting, painful, or dark. And those scars…they remind me of who my God is. Who He has proven Himself to be. And not in general – He proved it to me.
I know He is present. I know He sees me. I know He draws near in compassion and faithfulness to heal a shattered heart. I also know that when I look to Him in my circumstances, not fighting Him over things I don’t understand but releasing them and allowing Him to do His work in me, I experience the fullness of His grace and the steadfastness of His love. I experience His provision of all that I need to get through the days, hours, and minutes. I experience that He is enough.
My God is for me (Psalm 56:9). He has proven Himself to be a fortress (Psalm 48:3). He surrounds His people like the mountains surround Jerusalem (Psalm 125:2). He is a sun and shield (Psalm 84:11). He keeps me from falling (Psalm 94:18). He holds me together (Colossians 1:17). He is the breath in my lungs and the strength to keep going (Ezekiel 37:5; Isaiah 12:2). He sets my feet on solid ground and rescues me from the one who would use difficulty to destroy me (Psalm 18:17-19). He transforms my mourning into praise because of how He faithfully brings me through (Isaiah 61:3). All of these things, and more, He will do for each of His own.
May today bring reflections of who God has shown Himself to be for you. Or, perhaps, open the eyes of your heart to see who He desires to show Himself to be for you. For me, it’s a bit of both…thankfulness as I dwell on His past faithfulness, and seeking His face for new mercies in His assurances of who He is and will continue to be. Our God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He sees us in our deepest hurt, our greatest joys, and every moment in between. And He is faithful in it all.
In Pleasant Places 