Brokenheartedness to Breakthrough by Margaret D. Mitchell “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” -Luke 4:18 An interesting thing happened to me last week. While walking in my neighborhood, I was struck in the eye with a rock that was intentionally hurled at me from a car driving by. Yes, it was painful. Yes, it was shocking. And yes, I lost part of my vision. But the incident also hurt my heart. I believe God purposes everything that touches us. And my heart had no understanding of this incident. So I immediately sought the Lord. Then I watched Him turn this tragedy into triumph step by step. Alone on the street, I saw (with my good eye) that a woman had just turned into her garage on her way home from work. I sought her help. And she called 911 for me and stayed with me until help arrived. The EMTs checked me out, and the policeman took vital information before giving me a ride home. By this point, it was nightfall. I immediately called my husband and texted three of my best friends, asking them to pray for me. They each assured me they were on the job, and I knew they were. I had been praying throughout. Although I didn’t fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning that night, I felt the peace that surpassed all understanding. I knew God was with me. Although I could not see entirely during those hours, I rested in the comforting presence of the Lord. I knew He had heard their prayers. It was otherwise unexplainable. When I awoke the next morning, my vision had greatly improved, even though my eye looked worse. While searching scriptures that morning, the Lord immediately gave me Psalms 27:3 “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” This explains exactly what was happening in my heart. There was no fear, only perfect confidence in the Lord. I called my insurance company and found a local in-network opthalmologist. Thankfully, he saw me that same afternoon. I received a hopeful report, a prescription for eye drops and an appointment to return the next day to see a retina specialist that was otherwise booked two years in advance. During my opthalmologist visit, one of my friends emailed an invitation to me to attend a special healing service at a local church that night. I sensed I should go. My friend is Catholic, and I am not. But that didn’t matter to either of us because we both understand that God is bigger than any denomination or doctrine. During this charismatic Catholic advent service, the priest spoke about the opposite of sin being praise, how praise shifts the atmosphere and lifts oppression off of us. He also spoke briefly of Saint Lucy, whom I knew very little about. Then we praised God for hours, which was so lovely and intimate. I could feel such peace and the presence of the Holy Spirit. After the praise session, I received prayer from a married couple in a corner of the sanctuary. It was then that I learned that Saint Lucy’s eyes had been plucked out because she had chosen to follow Jesus. Saint Lucy decided that she would rather be without eyes and live for the Lord than to see and be without Him. In the end, God miraculously restored her eyesight. The married couple prayed that God would miraculously restore mine; and they prayed for me to receive an increased anointing to pray for others to have restored vision. My heart soared with fresh hope. It had a renewed purpose outside of myself. It had joy and zeal to see how the Lord would continue to restore me so I could help restore others. In God’s kingdom, nothing we go through is wasted when we turn to Him. I am amazed at how fast He can pivot circumstances. He is the God of the impossible. And we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Comfort and joy now fills my heart. I believe there is no greater gift that sisters and brothers in Christ can give to each other than prayer. What tragedy or heartbreak have you experienced? Do you have family and friends to pray for you? If not, you can do what I often do: Ask God to raise up intercessors day and night to pray for you. Psalm 34:18 tells us that God is close to the brokenhearted. God has different methods of healing, and He is not limited in resources. How has He restored your heart, your body and your emotions? Has He healed you over time or instantaneously? Maybe both? How has God turned your pain into power to help others? How has He supplied all your needs? How has He rescued you? May this season of miracles shine brightly within your heart and upon those you love. May God’s glory prevail over all your circumstances and turn your tragedies into triumphs. And may you feel more love and power that God longs to give you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:01:48 +0000
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