Turning Our Mourning into Dancing

Since their son Josiah went to heaven on his nineteenth birthday, Steve and Sarah Berger have developed a new passion for Heaven, its inhabitants, and its activity. The following article is an abridged chapter from Steve and Sarah’s book, Have Heart: Bridging the Gap between Heaven and Earth.

Understanding Brokenheartedness

We have a God who loves us, cares for us, and meets us face-to-face in our darkest hour and deepest need. This is what is most important for you to completely understand—not just with your head, but also with your heart, as broken as it might be right now.

Brokenheartedness is way beyond just having a bad day. We’re talking about a life-changing, soul-wrenching tragedy in which every other trial or heartbreak you’ve faced suddenly pales in comparison.

Brokenheartedness is when your heart is obliterated, scattered, and devastated. It’s when your faith and trust are stretched and attacked like no other time. Steven Curtis Chapman said it so clearly to us: “There will be times when you’ll question everything you believe.”

Although the cause of brokenheartedness varies, the symptoms are similar, and the solution is always the same. We must cling to the fact that Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted. He didn’t just come to cheer us up on a sad day. He came so that He could show us power and healing when our hearts are in scattered little pieces. He came so we could liter-ally “have heart”!

Solomon, the king who sought wisdom, recognized the utter devastation of a broken heart when he wrote Proverbs 18:14. He asked, “Can anyone bear that?”

“YES, YOU CAN BEAR IT!” You can bear it because of the grace, power, peace, love, compassion, presence, and promises of Jesus Christ. That’s the only way you can bear brokenheartedness. Jesus came so all of us can have heart and be made whole again (Luke 4:18).

No One Is Exempt

We sometimes ask why or question God’s presence, love, or wisdom in allowing tragedies to happen. Or we may say, “This isn’t fair” or “This isn’t right.” We want to say boldly and com-passionately that the church needs to wake up and grow up—brokenheartedness can happen to anyone at anytime.

Anyone, in just a second, can have a broken heart. We need to settle this misconception of exemption in advance, when life is going great, so that we’re prepared should God allow heart-break in our life. Not being prepared for the possibility of grief and suffering opens the door to a whole host of whys, and on this side of the thin veil, we’ll never get satisfactory answers to why our hearts were broken.

A pastor friend of ours had some invaluable wisdom for us within days of Josiah going to Heaven. He said, “You can’t ask why and let why dominate your thoughts. You can’t let the ‘whys’ replace the ‘knows’ of your life. All the whys will never be answered this side of Heaven.”

Instead of clinging to pain, we must cling to God’s love and settle in our hearts and minds that we know where to go for reprieve and remedy—God’s Word. What we know is that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). What we know is that nothing can “separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38, 39). What we know is that He makes “everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). What we know is that He will ”not leave you nor for-sake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). What we know is that He is “near to those who have a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18). What we know is that He does “all things well” (Mark 7:37).

Jesus Came to Heal the Brokenhearted

This is good news: Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted! It’s not sentimental—it’s supernatural. Through the prophet Ezekiel (34:16), God penned words about Himself and how He heals and binds our wounds. The solution for brokenheartedness is not a program—it’s a Person, and His name is Jesus Christ. He is the solution to humanity’s brokenness. Jesus binds up broken hearts and causes them to be strong again.

No matter how broken, scattered, obliterated, and devastated you are right now, know that you are not beyond Jesus’ healing touch. Jesus created your heart, and He can heal your heart. Cry out to Jesus, and let Him start the process of healing.

God’s Truth Is THE Foundation

From the beginning of our pain, we asked the Lord for only His truth. We didn’t want to be comforted by a lie or counterfeit sympathies. We quickly learned that something temporary only comforts for a moment, but God’s Comforter (John 16: 7, 13) gives something eternal in His truth.

King David helps us in Psalm 34:18. When our hearts are broken and we feel that God isn’t near, the truth tells us He is. When we feel like God’s forsaken us, the truth tells us He’s nearer than at any other time in our lives.

In Romans 8:38, 39, Paul is saying that the love of God hasn’t stopped. The love of God never stops in the midst of our brokenheartedness, and regardless of what we feel, we must hold on to this—nothing can separate us from God’s incredible, unbelievable love for us.

The truth you know will set you free—and keep you free (John 8:32). When you are brokenhearted, you must hold on to the truth of God’s love like nothing you’ve ever held on to in your entire life.

There are glorious and wonderful things happening in the midst of our brokenness, and there are wonderful things God can do in your brokenness, too. But you have to be willing to have heart and give your heart to God and His truth. God wants to turn your mourning into dancing.

You Must Want to Be Healed

There are many people who don’t want to be healed because their broken heart has become their identity. It’s their way to receive temporary, powerless pity from other people. They want to be known as people who have never recovered but made the best of a bad situation.

In John 5: 2-9, the apostle John wrote about one such per-son.

It’s our opinion that this fellow didn’t want to be made well. For thirty-eight years he was there, and in all that time he could not find one person to push him into the pool before somebody else got into it?

Jesus had to ask this guy if he wanted to be healed because some people don’t want to be. In your brokenness, you have a decision to make—do you want man’s pity or God’s healing?

We had to make that same decision, and thank God, we made it very early. Will you cling to your brokenness or sur-render to God’s everlasting peace, comfort, and healing? You cannot ride the fence on this one, and we would encourage you with everything we have not to settle for man’s pity. It’s easy to get addicted to it, but it is a cheap imitation.

Choose God’s love, His truth, and His comfort over anything else. If you know you want to be healed but don’t know where to start, simply cry out to God for His help and His truth. He knows all the places where your heart is scattered, and if you want Him to, He’ll bind them up for you.