Have you ever been heartbroken? The dictionary defines heartbroken as suffering from overwhelming distress, being very upset. Synonyms are anguished, devastated, inconsolable, crushed, shattered, miserable, sad, dejected, just to name a few. There are more.
I am sure that most of us could grab one of those synonyms and say, “That’s me!”
I have been broken hearted a few times in life. When we left our baby in the ICU on her first birthday with a hot bacteria. When I left our 17 years old son in California for his senior year as Bob and I moved to Idaho. When my dad died. When we lost the home that we built and had to move into rentals. When my body was overcome with two auto-immune diseases and my strength disappeared. There have been many other times when life has left me distressed, miserable, sad, or dejected.
And yet I am not a distressed, miserable, sad, or dejected person. Why? Because God’s favor lasts a lifetime. As God’s child, “weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.” [Psalm 30:5 HCSB]
Our God can take the harshest of days and make them bright. He can turn the bleakest of trials and circumstance into something for our good. [Romans 8:28]
As the writer of Psalm 30 puts it, “You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.” [Psalm 30:11-12 HCSB]
Thank you, LORD. Today I will focus not on the lament or sackcloth but on the dancing and gladness. I will sing my praise to You forever. I will not be silent. Amen
