August 24,2024

 Do You Know Jesus

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,

He saves those crushed in spirit.

– Psalm 34:18

He was only 14. Today his family and friends will gather in the high school gym to celebrate his life. It makes no sense. Death doesn’t always make sense.

It was a normal school day. He and the rest of the football team lifted weights inside and then headed outside. He suffered a “medical emergency” within minutes.

One day we’ll know what happened. One day we’ll understand. But right now we wonder how a seemingly healthy young athlete could simply die.

We’ve cheered him on through more basketball games than I can count. Our grandson is the same age and was on the same teams. Junior high games. Rec ball games. Travel ball games. We watched him play earlier this month.

Our only consolation is that he knew Jesus. This separation is not the final goodbye. We’ll see him again. I am thankful for his faith. I am thankful for the promises of Jesus.

So I turn to you and ask: Do you know Jesus? Have you accepted Him as Lord and Savior? It’s not about knowing the right words to say when someone asks. It’s a heart thing. Has Jesus changed your heart? Do your words and actions reflect Him?

No one expected a 14-year-old boy to die that day. But he did. Don’t assume you’ve got time. One day it’ll all be over. So I’ll ask you again: Do you know Jesus?

October 23, 2018

God is With You

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18

There’s a sadness about him. He’s solemn. The twinkle is gone from his eyes. His heart has learned what his mind always knew: The things of this world are only temporary. Only God is forever.

The things I always thought would be there are gone, he told me. Hurricane Michael showed no compassion, no sympathy, no mercy as it attacked. It was gone within hours of the initial onslaught. The scars – both on the land and the people who live there – will last forever.

How do you even begin to heal? There’s nothing to rebuild. It’s all rubble and fallen trees. Everywhere you look is devastation. It’s hard to make out where specific landmarks once stood. It’s just that bad.

And then, as you struggle to cope with what has happened, you hear that three linemen have died. They were mowed down by a man now charged with DUI. They were doing something good. They were working to restore power to people who have been without for more than two weeks. They were helping others and they died because of it.

How does it all make sense? We know that God will turn all things to our good and His glory if we’ll just turn it over to Him. But it’s hard to see good right now. It’s difficult to believe anything could ever be alright again. The weight of all that’s happened causes a burden in our souls.

I wonder how God felt when Jesus hung on the cross. It was necessary to save us but have you ever considered what it cost Him? That was His Son! And think about Jesus. He knew what was coming. He agonized over it. He pleaded for another way even as He surrendered His will to God the Father.

And, yet, we tell ourselves God doesn’t understand. We demand that Jesus fix what is broken on the outside, brushing past His offer to fix what is broken on the inside.

That’s where the healing begins. It’s on the inside. It’s choosing to look at the good in something that is too awful to bear. It’s that flicker of hope that lets light into the darkness.

It’s noticing how people are coming together to help those in need. It’s remembering what’s important in life. It’s noticing the beautiful sunrise or the healing touch of a gentle rain.

It’s remembering that no matter how alone we might feel, God never leaves us alone. It’s knowing that when we don’t know the way, God is right beside us telling us which way to go. It’s believing that even though we don’t know how life will ever be okay again, God has promised to provide good things for us.

Deep sadness changes us. We become stronger, our roots of faith, growing deeper into the strength of His Presence. But we are never the same.

My dear friend will one day be happy again. He will smile. His laughter and dry wit will return. But he’ll carry the sorrow of today deep inside. That’s where compassion takes root. In the years to come, he’ll understand the agony of someone else’s pain and he’ll be able to reach out in empathy. It’s the good that comes from the bad.

I don’t know your story but I do know this: God is with you, no matter where you are or what you’re going through. When everything else collapses around you, count on that. God will never let you down.

March 17, 2016

God Gives Us A New Heart

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. -- Ezekiel 36:26

One of the hardest things to do after being hurt is to pick up the pieces of your heart and go on. It’s easier to wallow in bitterness and anger, cutting yourself off from others and, hopefully, not opening yourself up to being hurt again.

Some people don’t seem to have that problem. A sweet friend was devastated last year by a divorce she didn’t want. She cried that she hadn’t just lost her husband; she’d lost her best friend. It was a tough time.

Fast forward six months: She got married last week. Seriously. She met someone and it was love at first sight and she’s now married. I am amazed by her courage. Only time will tell if she was wise or foolish, but she took a chance and I admire that.

I’m not that much of a risk taker when it comes to relationships. I tend to burrow into myself. I’ve had too many broken hearts that came from too many bad choices. I tend to give people too many chances and look at the good instead of seeing the bad. And then it blows up in my face.

These days I prefer spending time with God and people I know I can trust. But sometimes I wonder if my heart has become too hard to take a chance. I don’t want that to happen. I know it isn’t a guarantee against never being hurt again. I wish it was but life just doesn’t work this way.

Here’s the thing about God: He’s good about giving us fresh starts. He’s good at mending broken hearts and making them new again. God is good at mercy and forgiveness and gives us grace when we least deserve it. God is good that way.

Me? Not so much. I can’t forget the past. Can you? When someone has wronged you, can you forget? Forgiveness for us is hard and ongoing. I wish sometimes I could be more like God. When He forgives, it is like it never was. I don’t want to remember. I don’t. But I do. I think I always will.

But I don’t want a hard heart either. I want to feel that new spirit beating inside of me. I want to love and take risks and remember what it was like not to have a broken heart.

God says He restores His children. I am holding on to that.

February 26, 2016

God Comforts Us

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

-- Psalm 34:18

Has anyone ever broken your heart? If you’re old enough to be reading this, the answer is probably yes. But there are many things that can cause a broken heart, not just the romantic love we immediately think about.

My mind goes this moment to a faithful couple who buried their son two months ago. The heartbreak will never go away. Oh, they’ll get better at living with it. But for as long as they live there will be a piece of them missing, gone home way too soon.

A dear friend copes daily with a son who has broken the law again and again. And, still, he refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. She is devastated, her heart in tatters as she struggles to understand how her sweet boy could have become this hard-core drunk and drug addict.

Another man struggles to forgive a former co-worker who told lies and tried to get him fired. The co-worker’s lies were revealed but not before the man and his family had suffered greatly as they lived under a cloud of suspicion.

What is your story? Have you ever been betrayed by someone you thought you could trust? Have you ever had someone blame you for their mistakes? Have you ever had someone ostracize you for something you didn’t do? Have you ever had a spouse betray you?

There are many ways to suffer a broken heart. There is only one way to recover -- by placing faith in God’s healing. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to forgive and forget on your own. Nor is it practical. People who break your heart aren’t safe anymore. It doesn’t mean you don’t love them. How can we help ourselves? It does mean watching what you say and maybe choosing to put distance between you and them.

My friend’s son is in jail right now. He may be there a while and that could be a good thing. She talks of going to see her family up north for a few weeks. She longs for a change of scenery, one where every moment doesn’t remind her of all that has happened. I think it’s a good idea.

Change can help us bring closure and healing. Our hearts are still broken but God is a masterful healer. He uses our heartbreak for good, even as He masterfully knits us back together again.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

God Cares For The Broken

The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit. -- Psalm 34:17-18

A few weeks ago, my uncle told me of a conversation he’d had with my mother. He was excited to think that maybe, just maybe, her heart was opening and she might actually become the Christian she’s always claimed to be.

She even said that she and her husband actually needed me, he exclaimed. Then he went on to tell me that it was the first time he’d ever heard her say anything good about me. That was one reason he thought perhaps she was finally changing.

I kept my expression calm. I nodded and said all the right things. I didn’t want him to know how deeply his words hurt. That wasn’t what he intended. I know that. He was intending to give good news, and there was that.

But no matter how many years pass, no matter how many tears I’ve shed, no matter how many times I tell myself it doesn’t matter, it does matter. It hurts. I know my parents don’t like me. I know they don’t love me. They never have and I’ve always known it. They’ve made sure of it.

I rarely talk about it. Why would I? People either criticize and condemn me for being self-centered or delusional or they wonder what’s wrong with me that even my parents couldn’t love me. I’ve learned over the years to keep it bottled up inside.

And then something happens. Someone looks at me funny or makes a nasty comment and I know, one or both of my parents have been talking to them about me. They don’t just keep their opinions to themselves. They never have. I’ve endured a great deal of hatefulness because others believed whatever they were told.

I’m not the only one with painful secrets and hurtful rejection. I look at a friend still struggling with self-esteem issues because she was sexually abused as a child. I watch another young woman slowly emerging from her shell as she stands up to a mother who criticizes her constantly. I watch a dear man try to be strong as he makes tough decisions for someone he loves and endures her rejection while the rest of their family refuses to even care.

There is pain all around us. There are tears behind so many smiles. There are people just getting by the best way they can because survival is all they know how to do.

I take comfort in knowing that God understands. That He cares for those of us who are brokenhearted and in pain. He embraces the rejected and abused. He vows to defend them, to rescue them, to love them no matter what.

Someone you now needs a hug today. Someone you see needs a kind word. Someone in your midst needs a friendly smile. Will you just walk right on by and pretend you don’t see? Or will you reach out like Jesus and show them you care?