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What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?

In the 1966 hit record, What Becomes of The Brokenhearted, Jimmy Ruffin sings:

The fruits of love grow all around

But for me they come a tumblin’ down

Every day heartaches grow a little stronger

I can’t stand this pain much longer

I walk in shadows

Searching for light

Cold and alone

No comfort in sight

Hoping and praying for someone to care

Always moving and goin’ to where

 

Jesus was sent to heal the brokenhearted. He opened the scroll and read of himself saying:

 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” Isaiah 61:1

 

Jesus doesn’t want you living the above lyrics to the song. He gave his life that you might do the opposite. He wants you to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that give fruit and are prosperous. He’s come to heal your heartache. He wants you to come out of the shadows and into his marvelous light. He is a comforter. He cares for you and wants you to cast your cares on him. He wants to lead you in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Line for line, Jesus is the answer to what becomes of the brokenhearted.

 

What becomes of the brokenhearted?

 

When their hearts are opened, they are healed.

 

I had a gaping whole in my heart. A space carved out with my mother’s name on it. I tried to fill that space with many things but they never quite seemed to fit: too big, too small, wide angles, sharp corners. They just didn’t fit. But thanks be to God he is a father to the fatherless and a mother to the motherless.

 

What does he want you to do in order to heal your broken heart?

 

RECEIVE

 

Open the door to your heart so that you can be healed, whole and loved.

 

Walking into a grocery store with my 4 year old was torture as the Valentine’s ‘eye noise’ was unbearable. He asked me, “Mommy why do they have Valentine’s Day everything? Mommy it’s too much cookies and candy and balloons.” I told him he was right that I love him and his siblings and his daddy so much everyday that we didn’t need to buy pink cookies to let them know we love them.

 

And the Father loves you more than that. He doesn’t have to dangle trinkets in front of your face that you’ll eventually discard. But every day he sees you, chooses you, knows you and calls you. Today, respond to him. He’s wooing you. His love is magnetic; it just draws you in. Don’t try to repel it, but like the strength of a neodymium magnet, be drawn in and fused together.

 

If you are brokenhearted for whatever reason, it will hamper your ability to love unconditionally. For more on agape love click here. Your capacity to love agape is only unleashed when you’ve 1st received from Him who loved you 1st. You cannot give that which you do not have. So Jesus is simply waiting for you to say yes. Perhaps you’ve said yes to let Him be your savior but have you said yes to receive his unconditional love for you? He is down, on bended knee. Imagine him as he was when he washed the disciples’ feet. He was modeling for us humility, servant hood and above all love.

 

If we are to experience the fullness of his resurrection power in our lives, we must accept that we are loved by him. We have been crucified with him yes. Now we have new life all because he loved us and freely gave himself for us.

 

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

 

If you receive his love for you, won’t you tell him today. Below in the comments you can write your response to receiving his love. If you have challenges receiving his love, you can share that too so I can pray for you. If all the Valentine’s hoopla causes you more pain than joy, share that too so I can pray for you. In fact, right now I reach out to you with a big virtual hug. Can you feel it? The Lord’s got a hug waiting for you too.

 

 

In The Secrets of the Secret Place, Bob Sorge says this of our communion with the Lord:

He initiates, we respond

He gives, we receive

He impregnates, we bring to birth

He leads, we follow

He loves, we reciprocate

He rules, we reign with Him

 

Lord, I say yes. I open the door to my heart. I come running to you. I love you Lord.

 

To God be the glory for all that he has done.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!

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How Do You Know You Are Loved

“Of all the hard times I’ve endured, ain’t nothing that real love can’t cure. Of all the hard times that I feel, ain’t nothing that real love can’t heal.”

 

This is how I know he loves me!

 

When I write God gives me things in pieces. So I had this list of scriptures of God confirming time and again that indeed he loves me.

 

But I paused. I said to myself, “Lord I know that I know these scriptures in my head. How do I move them from my head to my heart? How do I really know for myself that you love me?”

 

How do you know you are loved?

 

How do I know my husband loves me? Well it’s evident in his actions. He works tirelessly to provide for me. He fiercely protects me. He supports and encourages my dreams. He gives me the green light to pursue my interests. He is physically affectionate and doting. I have no doubt the dude loves me.

 

How do my children know I love them? Well I directly asked them that question and here’s how they responded:

~You always encourage me to do my best and you correct me when I do something wrong. T. Age 10

~You cook for me everyday and make me eat healthy food. S. Age 9

~You hug me and kiss me and call me sweet girl. A. Age 6

~Blank stare. Momm-meee! Then he rubs the back of my arm as he’s done since he was an infant E. Age 4

~No words, just a BIG kiss. Muah! J. Age 2

 

From this we can see love is a verb. There is action when there is love. So when I look over my life, I can clearly see the Father’s love action active in my life. His hand guiding me, his arms protecting and his embrace comforting me.

 

Can you look over the course of your life and find evidence of his unfailing love for you?

 

I can turn the pages in my life story and see his love:

~In the awkward, peculiar way my parents met and went on to create me

~Having very little supervision as a young child yet being protected and shielded

~Giving me a cousin that looked out for me

~Learning how to care for myself at a young age (right down to having to scrounge up loose coins to buy food)

~Ordering my steps so that I did well in school

~Covering me while I made stupid decisions in college

~Allowing me to meet my husband

 

And I could go on and on.

 

And some may think well if he loves us so much, why does he allow us to go through painful things? I don’t know that I have an exact answer as each of us has different paths that we must traverse but I do know that all the difficulties I’ve experienced have enabled me to handle and navigate life better. My pain and hurt has aided me in being able to adapt quickly, not take things so personally, a wider perspective on life situations, greater empathy, high tolerance and the ability to withstand storms. I know that he causes all things to work together for my good.

 

“Of all the hard times I’ve endured, ain’t nothing that real love can’t cure. Of all the hard times that I feel, ain’t nothing that real love can’t heal.”

These words are sung by an artist named Speech, one of the members of Arrested Development, a hip-hop group popular in the early 90’s. Yes, I know he loves me because his love has cured all my sickness and disease. His love has healed my hurt and my pain. His love gives me hope. His love mobilizes me to love stronger, try harder, and keeps me moving forward.

 

Since he IS love, he can’t help but to love you. He created you after all. Have you ever admired something you created and looked upon it with wonder and amazement?

 

After pushing my 1st born out of my body, I quickly pulled her up and laid her on my chest. After the nurses toweled her off, I pulled her back so I could look her over. In awe, I stared at this little human that I had a hand in creating. We stared into each other’s eyes and it was love at first sight. This is what the Lord feels when He looks at you and me.

 

God does not merely love, he IS love. And since his nature is that of love, he consistently demonstrates his love for us. Jesus is a love song.

 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

 

 

He has shown himself to me. My spiritual eyes have been opened and I can SEE his hand at work in my life.

 

 

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. John 14:21

 

 

He loves us in a way that is absolute. COMPLETE.

 

He Sees You. He Chooses You. He Knows You. He Loves You.

 

He loves you with an agape love, a love that is selfless, self-sacrificing, and unconditional expecting nothing in return.

 

How will you respond to his love today?

 

All week we’ll be talking about Embracing Everlasting Love. For Part 1 on being Seen & Chosen click here. For Part 2 on being Known, click here. I pray you join me all week as we embrace a love so pure, a love that expects nothing in return, a love that is complete, a love that can only be found in Jesus.

 

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy to connect with friends sharing the Good News Mommy Moments

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