MARK 12:43

So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury;”

Mark 12:43 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Mark 12:41-44

Our thankfulness to the Lord should be expressed in many forms. Singing praise to our Most High God is one way to show Him how grateful we are for who He is and for all He has done for us. Giving our time and energy to serve the Lord is another way of showing God how much we love Him and how thankful we are to Him.

Also, giving money or material possessions to the Lord speaks volumes of our appreciation for His financial provisions in our lives. In reality, every financial blessing we receive comes from our Most High God. Everything we own belongs to the Lord who allows us the privilege of taking care of it for Him. Jesus said that the widow who gave the two mites gave everything she had compared to those who gave only a portion of their abundance. This widow knew the meaning of giving sacrificially to the Lord. She was thankful for all she had and she gave it all, showing her sincere devotion to and her love for God. Her commitment and sacrifice are a wonderful example for us.

Having a broken heart and carrying emotional pain and trauma does not excuse us from showing thankfulness to the Lord. We must press past the pain and trauma—and honor our Most High God by giving Him praise, time, energy, and finances—regardless how little we can give. As we express our genuine appreciation to the Lord in these ways, we open the doors to our own emotional and spiritual healing and freedom!

PSALM 139:23

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;

Psalm 139:23 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Psalm 139:23-24

We all need to follow David’s example in these verses by asking the Lord to search and know our hearts. Our Most High God already knows everything in our hearts, minds and spirits, but asking Him to show us what might be hidden from us is an important part of the inner healing process. Becoming more like Jesus is not an instant, one-time event. As we grow in our relationships with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will show us things inside us that do not please our Heavenly Father.

As the Lord reveals any wicked way in us, we must be quick to repent and turn from those behaviors, thoughts and attitudes. If we resist the Lord’s kind and gentle prodding for us to repent, the devil will take advantage of those areas where we are not submitted to the Lord. A lack of repentance is a major blockage to inner healing. We cannot continue to practice known sin and expect to receive freedom from emotional pain and trauma.

The trauma that causes our hearts to be broken—and indescribable inner emotional pain—can be released and healed by Jesus Christ. However, obedience to Almighty God is the only way to receive the freedom we need to fulfill our God-given destinies. We must frequently ask the Lord to show us anything that may be hindering our freedom. Allowing the Lord to lead us on the specific path for our emotional and spiritual healing will result in true freedom from past pain and trauma and the priceless healing of our broken hearts! 

REVELATION 2:10

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Revelation 2:10 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Revelation 2:8-11

Although we can bring suffering upon ourselves as the result of ungodly decisions and choices that we make, all the things we suffer in this life are not a result of our disobedience to God. When we are obedient to Almighty God, the consequences may also cause us pain and suffering. One great example of this truth is when followers of Jesus are persecuted for their faith.  The devil may also test us in ways that cause us to suffer.

Many people are suffering and feel like they are in a prison due to their broken hearts. They may feel like they will never receive freedom from emotional and spiritual pain and trauma. The depth of their suffering may also lead them to self-destructive behaviors, or to even contemplate or commit suicide. However, none of that is the Lord’s answer to the prison of pain. He wants to set us free from that prison!

The Lord knows the emotional and spiritual pain that we experience from traumatic circumstances. And yet, He tells us not to fear the things we are about to suffer. He instructs us to be faithful—until death. The crown of life He has promised us includes the joy that we have in knowing that we will spend eternity in His presence in Heaven. Strength in our suffering and ultimate victory are available to the brokenhearted. They are obtained through the precious and healing joy of a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ!

PSALM 47:7

For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.

Psalm 47:7 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Psalm 47:7-9

Our Most High God is the King of all the earth! Regardless of what many people believe—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—our Most High God is the King of all the earth, and He sits on His holy throne. We must understand what an enormous privilege and incomparable gift we have been offered by the One True God through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be called children of God. If we truly understand this, we can sing sincere praises to Him.

Almighty God is worthy of our praise in spite of the pain and trauma that we have experienced in our lives. He is worthy of all our praise simply because of who He is and how His awesome love for us brings us joy and peace. Our broken hearts can be healed through that love, joy and peace which was made available to us when Jesus Christ came to this earth. Jesus’ death and resurrection provided for our salvation from sin and for the healing of our broken hearts and spirits that carry emotional and spiritual pain and trauma! 

Singing praises to God with understanding is true worship. Just singing praise songs without the understanding of the love and power of our Most High God is not what the Lord desires from us. He wants our genuine devotion and worship to be based on our knowledge of Him from reading the Bible, our personal relationships with Jesus, and revelation from the Holy Spirit. Our appreciative attitudes for the greatness of Almighty God bless Him and ourselves as well. Heartfelt worship and thankfulness for the Lord’s grace and mercy are essential for the healing of our broken hearts!

MATTHEW 11:29

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus told us to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him. We are often burdened by very heavy trials and traumatic circumstances in our lives that can cause our hearts to be broken into a million pieces. However, our bond, or connection, to Jesus is meant to help us find rest for our souls. Nothing else in this life compares to the rest that we can obtain through the peace of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Learning from Jesus includes becoming gentle and lowly in heart. This is neither easy nor natural for human beings, because we are more prone to fight for ourselves rather than to allow the One True God to fight for us. By becoming more like Jesus as we mature in our relationships with Him, we learn that humility and gentleness help us to receive rest and peace in our lives. 

When we are brokenhearted, peace is something that seems impossible to obtain. Our souls have very little rest due to the emotional and spiritual pain and trauma that fill our minds, hearts and spirits. The burden of pain and trauma that we carry is often too much for our souls to bear. However, Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. It is crucial for our inner healing that we cling tightly to Jesus and allow our relationships with Him to bring us blessings of peace and rest. As we continue to learn to trust Jesus and develop closer bonds with Him, He will heal our broken hearts and we will find rest for our souls.

PSALM 138:7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.

Psalm 138:7 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Psalm 138:7-8

We all walk in the midst of trouble at some time during our lives. However, our Most High God has promised to revive us from the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual exhaustion that can result from being bombarded by traumatic and devastating situations. He alone is able to revive and heal our broken hearts in a gentle and lasting way!

This verse also says that Almighty God will stretch out His hand against the wrath of our enemies and save us. What better promise could we desire? The God of the universe is our Defender and He fights for us in the midst of our troubles. The problem is that we cannot see what He is doing in the spiritual realm on our behalf. Therefore, we must believe His promises and have faith that He will do and is doing what is needed to fulfill His promises to us as His children—genuine followers of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

The devil will try to discourage us from believing God’s promises and he will even try to make us feel foolish for clinging to them. Doubt and unbelief in our hearts, minds and spirits can result if we are not steadfast in our faith in the One True God and His promises. The healing of our broken hearts is hindered by any doubt and unbelief that we allow ourselves to accept. The best answer to the devil’s tactics is always to know God’s true character and stand on His promises. That will bring us hope and the inner healing we need!

JAMES 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: James 1:5-8

At times, we all lack the wisdom we need to deal with circumstances in our lives, especially when we are faced with emotionally painful and traumatic events. Wisdom may be defined as the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience. How can we possibly have wisdom to make sensible decisions if we have never experienced a similar situation? We can’t and that is why we need to ask God for His wisdom.

Our Most High God knows everything that we need to make godly decisions and choices, and He is so faithful to share His wisdom with us when we ask Him to do so. However, we must ask Him for His guidance and direction rather than trying to figure things out ourselves. What seems right and good to us may be quite the opposite of what God knows would be best for situations that confront us.

Godly healing for our broken hearts and spirits is often obtained through a painful, yet necessary, and continuing process. The Lord’s wisdom is crucial in the healing journey. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows what path would work best for us to receive the freedom we need. Jesus Christ can heal any emotional or spiritual pain from trauma that is deep within us. However, we must ask God to show us the way to godly inner healing and freedom. The Lord’s peace and joy are worth seeking His wisdom!

PSALM 29:3

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The LORD is over many waters.

Psalm 29:3 (NKJV)

Suggested reading: Psalm 29:3-9

Take a moment to think about this. The God of glory thunders! His voice is so powerful that it thunders. Does that sound like a wimpy, powerless god? Absolutely not! Our Most High God is all-powerful and His voice alone breaks the cedars, divides flames of fire, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare!

When the devil tempts us to believe that our Most High God is not capable of intervening in our situations and helping us, we must remember the power that His voice alone carries. Almighty God is able to do anything and everything that we could possibly need Him to do as our Defender and Healer. He is our Rock and Fortress. He is the One True God and Lord of All! 

Our Most High God is the One who can heal broken hearts and spirits. His Son, Jesus Christ, died a horrific death, and He rose from the dead, because His Father knew that we needed Jesus to be our personal Lord and Savior. God desires that we spend eternity with Him, which is possible through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Almighty God loves us and cares about the pain and trauma that we have suffered and are carrying inside us. Therefore, Jesus also came to heal the brokenhearted and set the captives free. We must allow the God of glory to fill our hearts and spirits with His endless love and incomparable healing power!