Like a tsunami breaking over our lives, it washes over us bringing fear, shock, and uncertainty - and we know that our lives are forever changed. In its wake, the landscape of our lives is left rearranged and unfamiliar and our brains struggle to make sense of a new and unfamiliar reality. These are the times when some event or some person breaks our heart and we think there is no way to repair what has been shattered. They are indelible moments that we never forget and the wounds can take long to heal.

It is not unusual for us to ask, “Why God? Why me?” But in truth, the question is, “why not me?” We suffer because we live in a broken, fallen world where disease exists, death comes, people mistreat people, nations go to war, justice is often scarce, natural disasters disrupt, famine and drought come, wars rage, and the list could go on. All of this is the result of sin, which infected the garden in the beginning and will exist until Jesus comes back to establish His perfect kingdom. 

The real question when our hearts are broken is not, “Why me?” Rather, it is, “Why would Jesus choose to walk through my pain with me?” Why would the king of the universe choose to enter into our pain, sorrow and woundedness with the intent of healing our hearts?

The prophet Isaiah speaks of the ministry of Jesus 800 years before Jesus was born. This is how he described that ministry: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” - Isaiah 61:1 

In Psalm 34:18, David writes, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Here is what I want you to know: God has a special place in His heart for the brokenhearted and crushed. In fact, the Psalm tells us that the Lord is close to those who are suffering and wounded, whose hearts have been broken. But that is not all! Jesus was sent by God to bind up the brokenhearted. That is who He is and what He does.

Often, we focus on the wrong thing when our hearts are broken. We focus on why it happened to me, rather than on the promise that God is never closer to us than when our hearts are broken. This is vitally important to understand because, in our pain, it is easy to blame God and move away from Him. What He really wants is for us to understand He is close and wants to bind our wounds, but that happens only when we press into Him. 

If you are hurting today, if your heart is broken, take some time to meditate on Isaiah 61:1 and Psalm 34:18. Tell God your deep hurt and pain. There is nothing you can say to Him that will offend Him. And then take Him at His word that He is there with you, that He is close and that He longs to bind up your wounds and bring healing. 

This is what we read in Hebrews 4:14-16: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Father, I thank You for a love so deep that You promise to bind up my wounds and be close to me when I am brokenhearted. I pray today that You will heal the wounds of my life and heart and start me on a journey toward full healing. Amen.