Psalm 34:18“The
LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Jesus hurts when we hurt. This is
something I have been reminded of over the past few months since the
relationship I was in ended back in December. Jesus is in the midst of our
suffering and wants to bring us comfort. He is there to help us up after we
have fallen. I have only been in two serious relationships in my life, both in
the past 3 years, and I have learned more about the character of God and about
myself in that short amount of time than ever before.
God uses our tough circumstances to
bring Him glory, and to bring us closer to Him. He uses these hard times for
good. God’s love has pushed through all the darkness and pain and has washed over
me again and again like waves in the ocean; constant and strong.
I have had vivid dreams ever since I
can remember, and most of them haven’t been good. They are mostly scary or
painful, and the night we broke up, I figured I wasn't going to sleep well. I
cried out to Jesus pleading for peaceful dreams. He gave me something better.
Jesus was in my dream that night. He came out to where I was sitting and told me everything was going to be okay and I just needed to wait and
trust Him. He told me He loved me and was there for me. If I close my eyes, I
can still picture the dream, and that gives me joy and peace.
A very literal representation of
God’s love for me was shown through my dad. The next day I called my dad to
tell him what had happened. My voice broke over the phone as I choked out
“Daddy we broke up”. The compassion and sadness in my dad’s voice was so strong
as he cried with me on the phone. That
is how God feels when we hurt. In John 11:1-35 is the story of Lazarus. Many
focus on how Jesus raised him from the dead, but something significant to me in
this passage is that Jesus had compassion on the family who was mourning the
loss of their brother. Jesus cried with them even though he knew he was going
to raise Lazarus just moments later. He hurts when we hurt. He cries when we
cry. He is there sitting with us when we feel like we are all alone. But the
pain doesn't last.
Revelation 21:5“And
He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Healing isn't instantaneous. It doesn't happen overnight, but God does heal us and make us new in time. About a week
after my first break up my junior year, I got probably the worst sunburn in my
entire life after studying out on the Great Lawn. Now if you know me, you know
I am a very pale, freckly Irish lass. So I basically looked like a lobster. It
was the MOST painful sunburn and I
was so upset at myself for letting it happen. Then during the second week of
this sunburn that was still not healing and me still being upset about it, God
gave me an analogy. The pain felt from healing from a broken relationship can
be compared to the process of healing from a bad sunburn. At first you are
happy where you are, out in the sun, having a wonderful time and soaking it all
in. You know there is a risk of getting burned but you don’t worry about it in
the moment. The end of the day comes and you realize how much sunburn you got,
and how much it hurts. The first few days are horrible. You can’t move, it puts
you in a horrible mood, it makes you cry, and you are in the most pain you have
experienced in a long time. People can tell you are hurting by how red your
skin is, they know something is wrong, but sometimes can’t tell the cause. It’s
easy to cover-up the burn with a shirt and a smile… The pain is too much to
bear so you try to fix it and fix it fast. You try all different ways of making
the burn feel better, lotions, aloe, and cold showers, but it still isn't healing fast enough for you. So you get impatient that you aren't better yet.
You then try and quicken the healing process by peeling off the dead skin that
is only just starting to peel. Gross right? But the new pink skin that is underneath isn't ready to be open to the air and you end up being in more pain than you
were the day before, and then the lotions and aloe hurt too much to put on your
skin. What you need to do is be patient,
and give yourself time to heal. It’s a long process that goes in steps that
have to be taken in order, and slowly. After your skin is fully healed, you
will get “new skin” and it will be
tender for a while, but definitely better than before. Having your heart broken
is similar to having the sunburn. You try to fix it by distracting yourself,
covering up the pain, or just plain ignoring the pain. Healing takes time
and patience, and faith that the Lord can heal you if you just give Him the
time and have faith that you will eventually be better in His time, not yours. He will make you new again.