Restoring the Broken Hearted 

By Susan Barnes, an Australian pastor’s wife

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve.” Isaiah 61:1-3

It is God’s desire not only to heal people who are physically sick but also to heal the brokenhearted. The emotionally wounded people who are often unnoticed in our churches.

Some people become brokenhearted because of their own sins or bad decisions that they have made. Peter wept bitterly when he made a bad decision and denied Jesus (Luke 22:62) but later Jesus restored him and gave him a ministry (John 21:15-19).

Some people become brokenhearted because they have been sinned against. Joseph in the book of Genesis was treated appallingly by his family yet God did such a healing work in his life that Joseph called his first son, Manasseh, “because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household” (Genesis 41:51).

Some people become brokenhearted simply through unfortunate circumstances. In John 9:1-3 we find the disciples asking Jesus who sinned, the man blind from birth or his parents. Jesus replied neither, but rather it happened “so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Regardless of how we become brokenhearted God wants his work displayed in our lives. God wants to bind our broken hearts but we must be willing to co-operate with Him in the healing process. As someone once said, “God mends lives, if we give Him all the pieces”.

Today’s writer is from Australia and has her own website containing inspirational articles, book reviews, and devotional thoughts on Bible passages. Contact