I am honored to share this guest blog post by Karen Salisbury of Karen Salisbury Ministries. Her recent book, “Why God Why: What To Do When Life Doesn’t Make Sense” is a must-read for anyone who is stuck in “Why Land” and is seeking answers from God about their life. Pick up your copy today! I also encourage you to check out her website to see what a difference she’s making in people’s lives.
When Your Heart Has Been Broken
By Karen Jensen Salisbury
If anyone knows about having your heart broken, it’s Jesus.
He didn’t say, “Suck it up!” or “C’mon, get over it.” He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me…He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted” (Luke 4:18).
Jesus knows about your pain, and He knows exactly how to heal your broken heart! He is the only one who can fix it.
Often I meet people who are heartbroken, hurt, or bitterly disappointed, and it’s made them gun-shy. By that I mean that their heartbreak makes them guarded. They fear entering or maintaining relationships. They won’t reach out to people or move toward their dreams. They live in fear, behind walls they’ve erected to protect themselves.
I want to encourage you to not back away from life just because you’re hurting. I know the pain is real, and it will probably take some time to heal. But don’t let a horrible event or memory end up defining you! Instead, let God’s grace and His plan define the next chapters of your life.
BE BRAVE
When we know who we are in Christ and we remember where we’re seated, we can be brave. We can forgive, move on, and be willing to enter into life’s stream again. And we can do it with confidence, knowing that Jesus is available to help us through any future situation because we haven’t lost our place.
I once met with a young woman who had been divorced for a couple of years. She wanted to talk with me because she was finding herself attracted to another man. This was difficult because her husband had left her for another woman, and she had suffered through rejection. Understandably, she was hesitant to love again.
After all she’d been through, she was afraid of her feelings. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself anymore. Her thought was, if she could be trusted in the first place then she wouldn’t have picked the wrong guy to marry the first time.
As she and I talked, I helped her to see that there is no reason to let a past failure determine how to live the rest of life. Yes, she needed to examine herself and maybe sharpen her relationship tools—she should learn everything she could from the things that had happened to her and make necessary adjustments.
But she shouldn’t let the heartbreaking past define her or rob her of a bright future. That would be living a life of fear, and that is what Jesus came to deliver people from.
HE WILL BE THERE
First John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.” When you know that you are perfectly loved by God and seated with Him in heavenly places, it gives you the boldness to try again. You can be brave because you have a safety net.
It comes down to knowing who you are in Christ, knowing you haven’t lost your place, and knowing that even if you take a chance and get your heart broken again, He will be there to heal you and lift you up.
Live to the fullest! Don’t back off from people or situations unless God tells you to. As the saying goes, no guts, no glory—no risk, no reward. Don’t run away or refuse to engage. Be brave! Don’t be afraid to interact and try new things.
You can’t live an insulated life. It is not good for you or for the people around you who need you to engage in their lives. Even if you try and fail again, Jesus will still be the healer of the brokenhearted tomorrow!
Karen Jensen Salisbury is a wife, mom, friend, author and minister who’s been in ministry more than 35 years. This blog is an excerpt from her book “Why God Why: What To Do When Life Doesn’t Make Sense” – you can read the first part here.