Available grace

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. (Psalm 34:19)

Some of the most popular songs have been songs about heartbreak and loss. “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” and “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Can’t Live Without You”—they all tell the story of someone who has been deeply disappointed by a trusted friend or lover. Clearly, many people can relate to these feelings, or the songs wouldn’t have been so popular. It seems that heartbreak is a universal experience.

How good to know, then, that there is a remedy for the lovelorn—and for all the other disappointments we face! It’s not a pill or a magic potion. It’s not a “something” at all, but a “someone.” As the psalmist says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves” (Psalm 34:19).

If you have been let down by someone—or just by life in general—you can turn to him. Don’t worry that he’ll ignore you or won’t help you. On the contrary, God is always on the lookout for broken hearts to mend!

This truth is more than just a platitude or a line in a song. God is able to mend our hearts because he knows our hearts. Remember that in Christ he took on our humanity—all of it except for sin. He knows what sorrow, suffering, and pain feel like (Hebrews 4:15). He felt all the hurt we feel, and more. And embracing it instead of running from it, he took it with him to the cross and healed it. The grace he won for us there—the grace of the resurrection—is now available to all of us.

So whenever you feel that your heart is breaking, tell yourself, “Jesus is with me right now.” When it feels like your pain will never go away, tell yourself, “I believe in Christ, and I know he is healing me.” And when you find yourself worrying about the future, join the psalmist in proclaiming, “Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the Lord delivers him” (Psalm 34:20). Stay close to the Lord, and know that he will be victorious in the end—and you will be too!

from wau.org