Sometimes our hearts get to hurting and we don’t know where to turn. When our emotions are bleeding it’s easy to forget we have a Healer. It’s easy to run from the pain. My friend Suzie Eller is here today to remind us that we don’t have to run away. Jesus is inviting us to run to Him. Here’s an excerpt from her new book, The Mended Heart. And… there just might be a way for you to win a copy at the end of this post.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me. He has put His hand on Me to preach the Good News to poor people. He has sent Me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent Me to tell those who are being held that they can go free. He has sent Me to make the blind to see and to free those who are held because of trouble.” Luke 4:18 (NLV)
“Why can’t you get it together?” “If you would just try harder.” Have you heard any of these statements? Maybe you’ve even said them to yourself. Perhaps those who stood on a hot hillside in Nazareth were asking themselves the same questions. Many tried hard to follow all the religious laws, but knew they fell short. Would Jesus give them more rules to follow? Imagine their surprise as Jesus spelled out His personal mission statement: I’ve come to open the eyes of the blind. I’ve come to set the prisoner free. I’ve come with good news for the poor in spirit. I’ve come to heal the brokenhearted. The crowd must have been shocked by His words, for they expected a warrior, not a heart surgeon. Jesus Himself was setting the record straight. He came so that we might be made whole … through Him. For those who had been trying harder, striving more, it was a transforming message. They were accustomed to following rules or meeting expectations of man, rather than resting in the power of their almighty God. When I became a believer, I didn’t understand Jesus’ mission statement. I was dealing with untended brokenness and trying everything to fix myself. When I grasped the power of Luke 4:18, this truth changed me: The power of the cross is not found in what I do, but in what has already been done for me. Jesus didn’t mean for us to do this alone. It’s not our strength or power that will transform us. Yes, we make changes. Yes, we open our broken heart to His tender touch. Yes, we allow Him to move us in uncomfortable directions to discover new paths — and leave old ones behind. But we are in a partnership with God … and He’s bigger. I also discovered I didn’t have to earn God’s love. Maybe, like me, you thought God would love you one day, when you had it all together. Jesus’ mission statement proclaims that He loves us today. With our baggage and hurting hearts. When we grasp that kind of love, it changes us. It compels us to return that love, and to trust Jesus from our hearts. This trust helps us listen for His voice. We sense when He is teaching or redirecting us. We weigh temptation in light of our love for our heavenly Father. This relationship helps us discover our “true selves, [our] child-of-God selves” (John 1:12, The Message). Last, Luke 4:18 reminded me that I didn’t have to run away just because I felt broken. A hurting heart can send us running down paths we may regret, searching for something or someone to ease our pain. Jesus’ mission statement invites us to stop running and rest in Him, expectant that our true selves will emerge with His healing touch. The truth of Luke 4:18 is ours today to hold close, for Jesus came to heal our hurting hearts. Dear Jesus, for the longest time I’ve been concentrating on my efforts, but today I expectantly rest in You. Thank You that the power of the cross is not in what I do, but in what has already been done for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Isn’t it such a relief to know you don’t need to fix yourself, or earn God’s love or run any more. In fact, the more we don’t do these things, the more we live in Him; the more we build a foundation of rest and trust; the more joy we rediscover in our faith and in our lives. What will you not do today? Click “Share Your Thoughts” below do just that to enter to win one of 5 copies of Suzie’s new book, The Mended Heart. If you are reading this via email, click here to return to my blog and be part of the giveaway. {Your comment has to be left below this post to enter. Thanks!}
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This book is such a blessing, would love to share it with the girls in our youth ministry. Thank and bless you for your great encouragement and suggestions :))
Oh how I need this book TODAY!
Today I will not feel like I have no purpose in life. I pray for guidance and wisdom to find my specific purpose, so I can be genuinely happy once again!
I realize I’m not perfect, but forgiven.
I will not hold onto unforgiveness… A load to heavy for anyone to carry… Why should I when it’s already been taken care of for me.
Today, I will not ask God to zap me into a mighty woman of God who never doubts but just accept myself and believe His word that He is working on me. Life is all about God and His purposes. As we go through trials we have to believe that He is good and does only good. We who believe in Jesus and have repented of our sins can rest in the truth that He has a plan not to hurt us but to heal us.We have to die to ourselves and truly trust that He allows circumstances to draw us closer and dependent on only Him.
Comforting to know that I don’t have to fix myself and that Jesus can. We can take the broken mess of ourselves, crawl into his lap, and be loved, adored and cherished. He knows how to heal our hearts… And when He does we will be able to tell others of the hope and healing he brings.
The person I was born to be is not one that I was raised to nurture. I was raised among trauma, turmoil, and dysfunction. I was trained to work hard, and never feel good enough. Self worth, I am learning is not a function of my accomplishments; it is learning that I am wonderfully made, from before I was ever formed in the womb. And perfectly forgiven, from the cross. Mending is mindfulness of our inner/innate worth/beauty and trying to live in the present. Thank you for writing about the mending that we all have only to become aware of and accept. 🙂
Timely book. My sweet daughter is in a psychiatric hospital suffering from major depression. She is a cutter and has tried to take her life on 3 different occasions that we know of. Praise only be to God for saving her. I need to get a copy of this book to her. Recently she has confided that she does not believe that God can forgive her; that she is forgivable. She doesn’t believe that God would forgive her or love her. While she hasn’t completely turned her back on the Lord, it is obvious that her self-image is so damaged that she believes herself unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness. It breaks my heart. 🙁
This came to me in perfect timing. God always knows how to give us what we need when we need it. Our church has been studying I Corinthians 13, the “love chapter”. This went hand in hand with that chapter. God’s love is the only perfect love and we as humans can never give perfect love. We will hurt from others because their love will never be perfect. We need to love as God loves us, but we can never give perfect love, only God can do so. Without the perfect love, we are going to have pain and need our hearts to be mended. No one can mend our hearts the way that God can. We tend to forget that He is there for us, to comfort us, heal us, forgive us, etc. We need to turn to God, our maker, He made us and can heal us like no other can. This book sounds really awesome! I really liked Renee’s “A Confident Heart” and I am sure this book would be a ministry to me and many others.
I’m learning to trust God to take care of me and solve my problems and not give in to worry about them. I’d like to read this book because I think it would be a great positive influence for me. Also I’d like to share it with the members of our book club at church.
Thank you so much.
Carol
What will I NOT do today? I will not live in the shadow of doubts and fear that I am not good enough for God or anyone else for that matter. God created me special, just like all of us. I am a woman with a special place in God’s Divine Plans. As a mother of 3 beautiful daughters and my youngest having Autism and epilepsy, God knew I was “good enough” to be a mother to a special needs child. He gave me such precious blessings, I should never doubt my worth. I am grateful that I am reminded every day that Jesus loves me and thinks I am something. So much that He gave it all on the cross so I can be with Him in Heaven. God Bless your devotion and service to our Lord in helping woman understand that We are precious to God.
Today I will not try to do everything and make myself appear as the “perfect” wife and mother. I will trust that God will take of everything and provide me the time to do what is necessary without sacrificing my family time. What an amazing message today. Definitely spoke to my heart! Thank you!
This book would be such a blessing at this time in my life . The last few weeks I have been working on Not trying to fix other people and to stop running from all my pain from my childhood . I would really love to read this book!!
Thank you for all you do 🙂
I’d love to win a copy of this book! I need to learn how to ‘build a foundation of rest and trust’. Thanks for the chance to win!
I need my life changed and I don’t know how. I hope this would help.
Boy did the words in your blog hit home. I think this book could continue to help me through the healing process as I try to overcome the effects of my recent divorce. Trying to navigate being single, raising three girls and dealing with the continued impacts of my ex husband’s selfish choices.
Today I made a big step and turned off some other voices in my head to allow my positive ones and God’s to be the only ones that I would listen to any more. I’m done with pushing God away. I want to be closer and let him heal my heart and me.
I’ve been trying to fake it until I make it so to speak. My mother told me to just shut up and get over it, but it’s hard to get over you father trying to kill you because of something that happened between him and your mother that you had nothing to do with. Just haven been able to move forward with my life. I’m just going through the motions not really living, it has to be better ???
This book looks like it would make an awesome study to do with other women. So many of us have faced hurts that threaten our faith and emotional well-being. And, yet, those are the very things that God can use to draw us deeper with Him. Only He can heal our broken areas. Learning to trust a loving faithful God can be hard when living in a world that knocks us down repeatedly. It is so worth it learning to do so, though. He is faithful even when we are not. Would love to read this book and share it with others!