When the heart goes numb

Photo credit: vi.sualize.us

I feel today to speak to people who have been hurt. Hurt, shamed, abused or disappointed so much so that a part of your heart has gone numb and you just locked it away in a cold place somewhere where no one can hurt it or see the pain again.

A piece of our heart (an area in our lives) can so easily grow cold and hard. I've been speaking in previous posts about having a willing and open heart towards God, but it is possible to have your heart open to God is some areas, but not in others. It is also possible to have a willing heart towards God, but a cold heart towards certain people.

It might be that someone has hurt, offended or disappointed you and your heart has closed up towards that person or even a group of people. You might have forgiven and tried to forget, but consequently you were left with a piece of your heart numbed. A piece of your heart that got so hurt that you don't want to use it again, because you are not sure how much more you can handle.

You may be in a place where you have lost all hope in a situation and gave up trying. You have locked that area so far away, because you fear that you will feel the pain of disappointment or humiliation again. You fear having another failed or disappointing relationship, friendship, community, health, pregnancy, career, business etc. you fill in the blanks.

I want to tell you today that you are not alone. God knows what you are going through and He knows what you have locked up in your closet. Whatever it is, it is not something that God cannot deal with, it is not something that that He cannot restore completely. He can breathe life into any cold part of your heart and restore your faith, not just your faith in Him, but also your trust in people and in yourself.

You are not a failure, God does not create failures. Bring your broken pieces to Jesus today and He will restore your heart/situation with gentleness and kindness into something even more beautiful. Do not be afraid, you can put your trust in Him and He will never disappoint you. Allow Him to remove that coldness and hurt and bring you to a place of greater joy, freedom and confidence. When we try with Jesus, we can never fail, when we try with Him, we are more than conquerors.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom 8:37

“For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”” Rom 10:11

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Ps 147:3

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Tim 1:7

“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” Isaiah 49:23

Emotional pain: Ouch, it hurts..

I have never really dealt with death in my life as I have never lost someone that I immensely loved and cared for. I have been very fortunate so far, but I know inevitably it will happen and when that happens then maybe I'll rewrite this post. But for now I will talk about what I do know about.

Pain, emotional pain. The pain that makes you fall on the floor crying so hard that you think your insides are going to fall out. You feel like something inside broke beyond restoration and it hurts, it hurts so much and it's just so raw and so sore. Your heart is breaking, you feel betrayed, rejected, discouraged and you have no idea how you will move on beyond this point.

In that moment just cry out to God, just simply cry out, tell Him how you feel, how much it hurts and how angry you are. Scream if necessary and ask Him "why?" as many times as you'd like. He wants to hear from you, He loves you and He's not judging you. He knows how you feel and He wants you to be honest with Him about what's in your heart. He knows what is in your heart already, so just tell Him the truth in all harshness. He can deal with it. He wants to comfort you and He wants to give you peace and rest. Pain is relative, everybody reacts differently to situations and just because your pain might look less important in relation to pain in the world, does not mean that it’s not important. What’s important to you, is important to God.

"He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

I want to let you know that you will make it through, that you are not alone and that your heart can heal. You might have a scar, but no wound. Nothing missing and nothing broken. It is so important that you speak about your heartache. Do not bottle it up and deal with it alone. You will be surprised how many people there are who have suffered in the same way and who is willing to walk this road with you. Do not be ashamed and do not isolate yourself. Satan will do anything to keep you hurting. He will convince you that people don't care, that they are too busy or that they think you are pathetic. Do not believe his lies. You are not alone!

If your hurt relates to a loved one: You will never forget your loved one or the time you spent together, but don't let this pain dictate the basis for future happiness, friendships or relationships. It will if you do not let the wound heal properly. Jesus is the great comforter and there is no wound that He cannot heal. We must only be willing and He will do the rest. Take a step towards this journey with Him, even if it means going back a few years to the origin of the hurt, just take a small step and He will lead you in the most beautiful way.

Also:

1. Cry, a lot, as much as you want to and need to.

2. Rest, give yourself a break and look after yourself.

3. Eat, every food that you love.

Enter into God's rest and remember that you are incredibly loved by the One who holds the universe in His hands.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, because God is for me. In God whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Psalm 56:8-11