Healing for a Broken Spirit

The following quote is from my novel “A Reason to Pray at Mountainview“:

He [Mark Torrell] had dozed off in the chapel praying for his family and to ask God … again … for forgiveness, something that he has never been able to accept from God. And again he found that neither medication, sleep, nor a religious setting was strong enough to quiet his soul and to remove the shame that kept him enslaved to his past sins.

“I guess it’s only right that God wouldn’t hear me, and I guess that it would only be right to let me die. I know that I deserve to, I just hope …”

Common Struggles

I’m sure that all of us can relate to Mark Torrell, in that he had more than one crisis hit him at the same time. We may differ in our situations, but we all know that life doesn’t pull any punches. Mark’s punches were coming at him faster and harder, and his spirit was getting weaker with each punch. The hardest punches were leaving him beat up and broken. They were guilt, shame, and regret. These three were leaving him flat on the mat, deterring him from praying and discouraging him from believing. The longer he was kept down, the more fear and hopelessness were taking their toll on of his life.

For Mark, his weak spirit was rooted in his past. It was a past that continued to work against him to keep him from finding the peace of God’s presence and from holding on to God’s promises. Yet Mark is not an isolated prisoner to the past. Is there anyone who has not found themselves confronted with a past that tries to condemn and even break them? Perhaps you, or someone you know, has a past that is haunting you and deterring you from living in the joy and peace of Christ. The effects of a broken spirit reach further into our lives than we would ever expect. When a person begins sliding downward, it becomes more and more difficult to stop and turn around. If we don’t learn to address our past, we may find ourselves more like Mark.

Proverbs 18:14 (NKJV) — The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?

John Piper, addressing Proverbs 18:14:

“…if the spirit is broken, if our hearts are downcast, if our soul is flat like a deflated beach ball, what can you do? The very will is broken; the flags of our affection just hang there with no wind to unfurl them.”

This quote reminds us of a dire need that is often neglected, which is the care of our spiritual health. A strong spirit gives hope and encouragement; it sustains us through life’s struggles, and is able to find traction to walk with the Lord. John Piper went on to say:

“If our hearts are strong in the Lord, if our soul is refreshed, we can endure the pain of the body.”

Finding Healing for a Broken Spirit

“The Gospel is the difference-maker, all the difference in heaven and earth.” (From “A Reason to Pray at Mountainview“)

Jesus delights in healing broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. God is glorified in healing brokenness. That is what He does. Who else can? Drugs? Therapy? An adrenalin rush? Entertainment? Only the Maker of the spirit can heal a broken spirit. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings healing, peace, cleansing, love, and forgiving. The Gospel is what the human heart needs.

Psalm 147:3  (NKJV) — He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Charles Spurgeon encourages:

His deep sympathy with mourners is a special mark of his goodness. Few will associate with the despondent, but Jehovah chooses their company, and abides with them till he has healed them by his comforts. He deigns to handle and heal broken hearts: he himself lays on the ointment of grace, and the soft bandages of love, and thus binds up the bleeding wounds of those convinced of sin. This is compassion like a God. Well may those praise him to whom he has acted so gracious a part. The Lord is always healing and binding: this is no new work to him, he has done it of old; and it is not a thing of the past of which he is now weary, for he is still healing and still binding, as the original hath it. Come, broken hearts, come to the Physician who never fails to heal: uncover your wounds to him who so tenderly binds them up! (Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). The treasury of David: Psalms 120-150 (Vol. 6, p. 415). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

Jesus said,

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

The Psalmist, David, knew where to run when overwhelmed and broken.

Psalm 61:1–2 — Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

It all goes back to the One who offers eternal life and liberty–Jesus Christ.

Reading About Christ on the Cross

Recently I picked up a book that I’ve had on my reading list for a long time. This was my book for vacationing at the beach. It’s a classic work by the late John R.W. Stott:  The Cross of Christ (2006. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books.).  I am grateful for Logos Bible software for publishing this work. I’m the guy who reads with a highlighter and pen. Ebooks, especially in Logos, allow markups, notes, and easy cross-referencing.

“There is then, it is safe to say, no Christianity without the cross. If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.”

“Give me a sermon on the cross any day. If it be from the scriptures, it cannot but lift my heart to the One who lived to die as the Lamb of God. When is the last time that you heard a sermon series on the cross of Christ? If it’s been awhile, I encourage you to pick up this book and find the depth of the riches of the work of Christ Jesus on the cross. At the cross we find the death of our old man and new life with God. Most importantly we find Jesus. I think this quote from Stott is what motivates the curious mind:”

“But why? We return to this basic puzzle. What was there about the crucifixion of Jesus which, in spite of its horror, shame and pain, makes it so important that God planned it in advance and Christ came to endure it?”

Stott opens these questions beautifully and leads you into answers. The crucifixion is more than saying, ‘Jesus Christ died for our sins.’ What does that really mean? Why was this absolutely necessary? What was the cause and effect? Stott does not disappoint.

If you have read this book, you know the difficulty of dropping only a few of its quotes. Here are a few more and I encourage you to pick up the book, with a marker and pen–paper or ebook.

“Despite the great importance of his [Jesus] teaching, his example, and his works of compassion and power, none of these was central to his mission. What dominated his mind was not the living but the giving of his life.”

I love reading about Jesus, who He was, is, and is to come. If you’re interested in reading on the subject, here’s a couple of recommendations:

The Cross: God’s Way of Salvation, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

In Christ Alone: Living The Gospel Centered Life, by Sinclair Ferguson.

The Crises of the Christ, by G. Campbell Morgan.

Two final quotes from John Stott’s book:

“In conclusion, the cross enforces three truths—about ourselves, about God and about Jesus Christ.”

Stott does a brilliant job with the numerous subjects and issues that come out of Christ’s redemptive work at Calvary. At the risk of causing confusion, I drop this last quote. It is a mere taste of his logic while tackling the subject: The Problem with Forgiveness.

“The Bible takes sin seriously because it takes humanity seriously. As we have seen, Christians do not deny the fact—in some circumstances—of diminished responsibility, but we affirm that diminished responsibility always entails diminished humanity. To say that somebody “is not responsible for his actions” is to demean him or her as a human being. It is part of the glory of being human that we are held responsible for our actions. Then, when we also acknowledge our sin and guilt, we receive God’s forgiveness, enter into the joy of his salvation, and so become yet more completely human and healthy. What is unhealthy is every wallowing in guilt which does not lead to confession, repentance, faith in Jesus Christ and so forgiveness.”

Building a Treasure Chest

When you read or hear something that arrests your heart, what do you do? Let’s say that it is something profound that causes you to stop your thinking process and ponder. You recognize these types of thoughts as something convicting—humbling or encouraging, or inspiring, or even greater? Does this happen very often? I think that it should, and if it isn’t, then I’d argue that you’ve become stagnant.

Did that sting?

From a prayer in The Valley of Vision:  “Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel, for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith.”

If you have followed my blog or read one my books, you know that Scripture is all this and more. I’m going to presume that Scripture is a give-me on this subject, and goes without saying. This is about other types of treasures.

“A mystery of the Word of God; it fills you up and satisfies you, while leaving you hungry and unsatisfied.” – Pastor Johnny Hunt

By the way, I’m not talking about something only on an academic level. I am referring to something that includes the intellect but keeps going deeper. Let’s be clear here, I’m not referring to cotton candy snippets of positive thinking and self-esteem pill popping.

Does it challenge what you believe or how you see things or how you act or think? Does it bring reality to light, humble, inspire, or confirm and at the same time stir your heart God-ward? This is the stuff that enlarges your view and understanding of God, the work of Christ, and your walk with Him—the rich stuff. These treasures will vary in power and depth, length and affect, and they are good, so good.

“Most of the unhappiness in your life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What do you do when you come across one of these gems? Do you write it down so that you can return to it like a cool spring fed well? Do you ponder for a moment and say, “huh” and more on? I encourage you to have place where you write these types of gems down so you can visit them periodically and especially when you need them to stir your soul. Perhaps the pages on the inside of your Bible—front and back; a small journal; or note cards.

From one of my favorite books—The Cross of Christ (John R.W. Stott): “The essential background to the cross, therefore, is a balanced understanding of the gravity of sin and the majesty of God. If we diminish either, we thereby diminish the cross.”