| Psalm 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” |
Have you ever experienced a broken heart? This is a pain like no other. No matter what you try, nothing seems to stop the pain long term. Some turn to alcohol, some turn to drugs or other physical pleasures to numb the pain. In my case, I often turned to food.
For many years, I struggled with emotional eating. It was what I turned to when I was hurting deep inside. When someone broke my heart in disappointment, I would turn to food. It would help temporarily, but it only numbs the pain for a little while. The effects on my body were catastrophic as I dealt with high blood pressure, painful joints, and body image issues. One day, I was so tired of my situation. I looked at my daughter and realized I needed to live. I needed more in my life, and this wasn’t it. My relationship with food was taking away my physical health and little did I know, it was killing my spiritual health as well.
One day, I got tired of being out of breath and not able to be there for my daughter. I decided I wanted to change. Gradually, I started exercising 15 minutes, three times a week. I started cooking healthier meals and changing my eating habits. Instead of eating when I was stressed or having an emotional moment, I would go for a walk. My energy levels were slowly increasing, and my doctor told me my blood pressure was stabilizing.
I started feeling good about myself until one morning during one of my one-mile walks, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He told me I was only half-baked because I was only dealing with one part of my life. I thought to myself, what does that mean? I love to bake, so I immediately thought about a half-baked cake that falls in the middle when you take it out of the oven too soon. He told me to surrender it all over to him, not just the physical health part. He wanted to heal me from the inside out. In that moment, I realized that if I did not turn to him for my complete healing, I would eventually fall in the middle of my journey and return to those old habits again, which is what he meant by “half-baked.”
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that food and my eating habits were never the issue. It was the pain from my broken heart that resulted in my broken relationship with Him, which led me to find comfort elsewhere. My heart was broken throughout my life, but I never took the time to deal with it or allowed God to heal it. I tried to stuff my feelings but realized it did not work.
When we do not deal with what’s going on inside by covering it up with temporary solutions, it will manifest itself on the outside by our behavior. Only God can heal those internal wounds that no one sees. The damage is reversable when we give it over to God.
Today’s scripture tells us that God is a healer. He can heal our broken hearts and mend our wounds. He wants to build a relationship with us that is good for our physical and spiritual health. If there are situations we have experienced in our lives from the past or present hurts, he can heal it all. Take the first step and start right now. Surrender your heart over to him. Let him know what hurts you. He already knows and is waiting to heal your wounds and renew your heart.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for another day of your grace and mercy. Thank you for being the ultimate healer. Thank you for another chance. We want to rebuild a healthy relationship with you. We honor you Lord for this day as a start of our new beginning. Take away all the old habits, heal our wounds and scars and restore our hearts. In Jesus name, amen
-Bridgette Wilson
