A Broken Heart

 Introduction

Was there ever a time in your life that you experienced a broken heart?

2Ki 20:11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz.

Hezekiah had received word that it was time for him to die. He had served the Lord very well and the time had come for his departure. He wasn't ready to die just yet. He wanted to live life for a time longer. The news he received broke his heart. He cried out to God and God gave him fifteen years more to live.

The Beatitudes

The beatitudes found in Matthew Chapter 5, were taught by Jesus on the Mount of Olives. If you pay close attention, each verse deals with something that is painful or hard to bear. Blessed are the poor in spirit, (broken, hurting, beaten down because of the hardships that had fallen upon them).
What Jesus is saying is, "Blessed are those who hurt and are broken."

Fall of Mankind

The fall of mankind started a downward spin that is gaining momentum each and every day. Many times we have to make decisions that are hard and weigh heavily upon us because of the consequences of those decisions. Much of the time our decisions end up breaking a heart, be it our own or another's. It is during these times that we need a comforter.
Until the heart is opened, the bad stuff inside cannot be removed. Envy, strife, jealousy, anger, hate, and malice must be dealt with properly. God is able to remove these from our hearts only when our hearts are broken. These things are nothing we need anyway but it just excess baggage picked up by us along the journey of life.

Lifting Mankind Up

A heart must also be broken in order to put good things inside it. A broken heart can receive all the goodness that God has to offer us. Love, peace, joy, meekness, righteousness, and holiness are all attributes of God Himself. The Bible declares that it is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2nd Peter 3:9.

After repentance is done, God starts working on the heart. Each time something bad is removed, it is replaced with something good. God continues to work on the heart until it is full of goodness.

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

A Broken Heart: Poem

My heart is broken, torn asunder
To remove the sins that make me blunder
Malice, envy, hate and pride
You refuse yourself to be denied

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
It must come before entering your Kingdom
Lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes
Evil imaginations, we all surmise

Must be dealt with in a mighty way
To keep sin and the enemy at bey
We draw near, seeking your holy face
We run our course, trying to finish the race

To honor you, we must come clean
White and polished, to a glorious sheen
To be a friend, in relationship with you
Be yours forever, created anew

My heart is broken, torn asunder
To instill the spirit of your awesome wonder
Forever I am yours and you are mine
My Lord, my God, to you I resign.

Conclusion

A broken heart is not the end. Yes, it hurts and the pain seems so bad that you feel you can't makes it at times. Even as we cry out to God, our hurting hearts will keep us from hearing Him at times. There is purpose for everything and a time for every purpose.

If you go to the supermarket and buy a jar of pickles, you can't eat the pickles until they are removed. They cannot be removed until the seal is broken and the lid removed. God takes our broken hearts and removes all the bad things we hold onto for all of our lives, (pride, envy, strife, jealousy, old grudges, hate, malice, etc. . . ). We feel the pain, even as He is doing a good work in us.

After the junk is removed, God will start putting good things into our heart. His love, peace, joy, and knowledge of Him is instilled. Many speak of the beatitudes and how great they are that Jesus would teach them but they fail to realize what is really being spoken. When Jesus spoke Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, He is speaking of painful things. Hunger and thirst are painful. This is why we must come to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

If your heart is broken, fear not nor be dismayed. God is still with you and is with you always, even to the end of the world. David wrote in Psalms 23, Thou prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. He also wrote, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.