BROKEN, YET WHOLE - PART 2

Isaiah 61:1 (NIV) "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."

For years I wore a mask that communicated everything was "just fine." I pretended to be full of joy and thought my cheerful smile would hide the decay growing inside me. Not wanting to ruin my image I hid the shame I lived with. Is that a smirk I see? You've done it too, huh?

Six months after I got married I fell apart. Emotionally, I was broken. Spiritually, I was empty. Mentally, I was exhausted from pent up anger. Physically, I lacked strength to climb out of the pit. I feared what others might think if they knew I was drowning and needing rescued.

The darkness of childhood wounds erupted in my life like a sleeping volcano that woke up. My heart spewed the pain I held deeply for so long. I didn't want to be held in bondage to my past anymore. No more pretending, no more fake living, and no more relying on myself. I was desperate for Christ to heal my brokenness. But I questioned, could He really take my junk and make beauty out of a busted and betrayed heart?

We all deal with heartache on many levels: emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical. Whether past failures or personal wounding, they all exist in some form or another. When something in our life breaks there is always a piece that is left within us. When circumstances cripple us little pieces can remain unless dealt with properly. When we don't handle and expel them they can continue to effect and eventually infect us.

For me to actually admit I needed help was my first step toward wholeness. God used a Christian counselor to open my eyes to more of His truth, to renounce the lies of the enemy and move towards progress in settling my damaged heart.

Jesus is indeed in the business of restoring shattered lives and torn hearts. Isaiah, the prophet foretold what Christ would accomplish when He came. Isaiah affirms in chapter sixty-one that Christ came as a preacher of the good news, a healer to the brokenhearted and a deliver to those in captivity.

Christ delivers spiritual freedom from the oppression and brokenness that sin creates in our lives. And, just as He physically healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and restored the crippled, He also desires to bring healing to our emotional wreckage that seeks to destroy us.

The enemy would like to use the wounds in our life to restrain us from triumphant living. We can choose to hold and dwell on the past or overcome it through Christ's power. We can rid ourselves of our injuries by bringing them to the cross. Christ does redeem all things for our good and His glory. The resurrection power that raised my life of sin to a life in Christ is the same resurrection power that healed the splinters of anger, insecurity and doubt.

Many times we allow our failures and past wounding to have too much influence on our lives. By holding onto our history we inhibit our future. When we cling to our past like a comfortable cloak of shame and guilt, it renders us ineffective for victorious living. We remain stuck in a pit of desperation, isolation and disappointment.

Until we break free from our entangled heart we will fail to experience the true victory available through Christ's authority. Otherwise, our pain will fester and create more ache, rendering us ineffective for the abundant life Christ desires for us.

Emotionally, I am whole. Spiritually, I am full. Mentally, I am free from bitterness. Physically, I climbed out of the pit. I no longer fear what others think. Broken, yet whole; only God can do this!

Heart Work:

God is in the business of delivering people from bondage and bringing redemption and wholeness to their lives. Do you actually live like you believe this? Consider your thoughts and actions. Do they really communicate this victory available in Christ?

Heart Exam:

Are you on the verge of falling apart? What seeks to shatter you emotionally, spiritually, mentally or physically?

How can your struggles deliver the hope of Christ to others?

Heart Changing Word:

Psalms 34:18 (NIV) "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 40:2-3 "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

Psalm 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Romans 8:11 "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you."

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose."

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

2 Corinthians 1:10b-11a "On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers."

Philippians 3:12b "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Copyright 2011 by Hester Christensen. All rights reserved.