A Broken Promise

There's a verse in Psalms that has really been speaking to me these days.  One might think I over think things.  But let's unpack this verse:  

Psalm 147:3 ~ God heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.

This is a verse that I have embedded in my soul.  I have prayed it for others who are hurting or going through a rough time.  But recently I started praying it for myself. Not to be selfish but to fully understand what healing is.  Healing.is.needed.  

This verse promises that God heals.  What God has been teaching me is that His healing doesn't always come the way I expect.  Most times its my perspective that changes with God's answer.  Not only does God heal, but He zeros in on the broken.  When thinking of all of the literal facets of a heart, there are lots of tiny veins and crevices that could be fractured or dysfunctional.  In the spiritual sense, God can use just about anything to sooth the crushed.  But what I find in this verse is not only does God heal but a remedy comes in the state of the broken.  You see, he doesn't heal a perfect heart or a heart that is fully functioning, he allows the heart to be broken first, before He mends.  And we we have to allow the broken, to receive God's healing.

In ministry, almost every day my heart is pierced for something.... 

a prayer posted about suicidal thoughts 

the overwhelming needs of starving kids  

abuse of the innocent

the torment of cancer ~ waiting in silence ~ the poor among us.  

Life presents lots of reasons that result in a broken heart.  Some would say mine breaks too easily, and they are probably right.   I find comfort in this promise-packed verse.

The next delivers good news too.  "He binds up their wounds."  I wonder what kind of heavenly duct tape God uses?  I envision that He uses gobs.  The word “binds” means to mend, fasten, secure.  So when repairing, the fix might show but it still functions, still operational, still has a purpose.  The repair that comes doesn't make the broken disappear, but it is a visual reminder of God's restoration, His strength revealed in the broken places.    

This verse gives me middle-of-the-chaotic-mess reassurance in my broken wilderness.  God not only cares about how He lovingly puts the pieces back together and but He gently holds them in place.  I accept His journey ahead knowing the binding will only hold for a while until another repair is needed.  The healing is applied over and over as He uses the broken for His kingdom.  

I trust Him to keep my fragile heart in working order. 


How has God used your broken heart for His good?