Love you can't understand.
Jesus steps up and dies for you. His broken heart sees what others don't. He walks the road to the cross, to hell and back again. For you—for me.
The heartbreak, the pain between His shoulders, the bruises, and bleeding cuts from the beating don't stop Him. Neither does aggregate spit that surrounds clotted blood. A rush of faces blur past Him. The people hate Him and push against His aching body in defiance. His clothes lay on the ground while human vultures lust for ownership.
Darkness overtakes the sky and wails of women pierce the silence. In heaven, God turns away from sin laid upon His beloved Son. The veil covering the temple entrance splits in half. He cries out to His Father, "It Is Finished." He completes His mission of salvation, healing happens. He forgives.
Many people believe that Jesus' heart ruptures. He suffered blood loss, dehydration, fluid buildup in the lungs, and unimaginable suffering. When the soldier pierces His side, water and blood flow out. Doctors say this indicates heart failure while theologians note that water symbolizes purification and blood atonement.
How People Suffer with Broken Heart Syndrome
My neighbor met me at the mail box. She looked 30 pounds lighter and her body visibly shook.
In tears and anguish, she announced her husband of 25 years had an affair with her best "friend." He now lived with this woman.
She was coming apart. A two-year divorce battle followed along with brain shock treatments to ease depression. She survived the ordeal. Not everyone does.
People drop dead due to broken heart syndrome. A husband slinks to the floor when a surgery gone awry nearly takes his wife's life. His chest hurts because part of the heart stops functioning as it reacts to elevated stress hormones. In some instances, a full-blown heart attack ends a life.
Affairs, unexpected deaths, and other events—take a quick toll of people. A child on drugs, domestic abuse, job loss, and asthma are all stressors. When you survive these shocks, where do you turn to feel better? How will you ever feel normal again?
How Jesus Deals With a Broken Heart
Jesus, a "man of sorrows acquainted with grief." Thankfully, He was only in His earth suit for a short time. While here, He had plenty of anguish, but He knew how to get over a broken heart.
Rejected—Mathew 8:34 – "The whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart out of their region."
Luke 17:25 – "But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." Judas (one of His disciples) betrays Him with a kiss, identifying Him as the one soldiers should arrest.
Offended Others—Mark 6:3 – "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him."
Luke 4:28-29 – "All those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. They rose up and thrust Him out of the city and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down headlong."
Despised—Isaiah 53:3 – "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
Betrayed—Luke 23:18 – "But they all cried out at once saying, “Take this Man away and release Barabbas to us!”
The God of Love comes to our rescue and people turn on Him like wolves ready for a hunt. They still do. Don't these scriptures break your heart because you personally know the compassionate Jesus? He has the highest regard for people even when they treat Him badly.
Can you imagine hundreds of people ready to end your life and you're totally innocent? Attempts to silence the Lord of life throughout His ministry must have caused great sadness.
How Do You Heal From a Broken Heart
Determination – Jesus moves past people in silence without saying anything. Your goal is to live on the opposite side of pain. At first you don't want to move on—but you must.
Truth – Jesus knows the heart of man. The majority of broken hearts involve loved ones. The Israelites betray and turn on God on a whim. He knows what rejection feels like, first hand. For that reason, He's your confidant—the one you can trust with your tears and heartache.
Acceptance of rejection— satan is always behind every assault of rejection. He strikes at the heart because that vulnerable area brings you to your knees faster than anything else. Rejection happens frequently and more than once.
Love— your enemies. While Jesus' captors and killers complete the act of crucifixion, He asks His Father to forgive them. He has nails through His hands and feet and gasps for each breath. Wickedness surrounds Him, yet He only thinks of others.
God is with Him—God is also with you through every storm. Before leaving earth, Jesus promises He will never leave you. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
How Jesus deals with a broken heart seems simple. Putting these steps into practice is harder because recovery from a broken heart takes work. Otherwise, rejection and betrayal eat away at you like cancer. If you concentrate on rejection, you give control over your life to that person. Still, full-blown pain is agnozing.
Hold onto God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. They bring lasting comfort and healing until your heart is once again whole.
Betsy
Originally published at
This article reads like a published literary compilation, Betsy! Perhaps, a book is in the making. Touching and emotionally stirring. Thanks for sharing. God bless you.
#Brokenness #BetsyWise #Healing #Forgiveness