What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?

The fruits of love grow all around
But for me they come a tumblin' down.
Every day heartaches grow a little stronger,
I can't stand this pain much longer!
I walk in shadows,
Searching for light.
Cold and alone,
No comfort in sight.
Hoping and praying for someone to care,
Always moving and goin' nowhere.
~From "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" by Jimmy Ruffin

The shock never goes away; when someone gives up; when they lose all hope. One last decision, sometimes in haste, sometimes a deliberate plan. When one cannot find comfort, when they can't see past the pain, and no one knows they are in pain. Some may have never experienced that kind of pain, blessed to never have experienced the kind of pain that never stops crying for an end. There is more than one way to lose someone. The first thing that comes to mind is suicide. Sometimes they disappear, and we don't hear from them again. Sometimes they go back to a place in time where they took all the escapes from the pain, such as overindulging in alcohol or drugs, or living a lifestyle that is one that does not define them, only their desire to drown the pain.

What does a broken heart look like? I don't know, do you? How many people do you pass by each day who are suffering in silence? Where it hurts the most there are no words, no reaching out, no cries that anyone can hear. Sometimes, Jesus wants to love his people through one of us. Are you open enough to let Him use you? Are you willing to love the ones He puts in your path, who may not be the ones you would choose to love?  When you look down at someone, could you be looking at the face of Christ? When you turn the other way, are you turning away from Jesus? These are very difficult questions to ask and more difficult to honestly answer.

It is much easier to leave these things to someone else, someone we feel may be more qualified to handle these situations. What an easy cop out! We all know what pain feels like. We tell others about trusting God to give us answers, to speak through us; where does that go when we back out of an uncomfortable situation? 

We are all broken people, and we all need God. We are His creation and we belong to Him. Without Him, we are incomplete. A smile, a handshake, letting people see Jesus in us, all can make an impact one cannot imagine. We expect ourselves to have answers, but just being there, just walking along side someone who is in a pain can give them the strength to go on. Sometimes God asks us to be the one to walk alongside someone for Him. 

God asks us to love Him with our whole hearts; He also tells us to love our neighbors not only as ourselves, but as He loves us. Especially in a world as it is today, God wants and needs us to do our part. How many of us pick what we want our part to be, and miss the part that God puts in front of us and wants us to do for Him?

Lord, help us all to be open to your mission and will for us today. Where there are our own desires, please remove them and replace them with yours. Give us the will, trust and faith to do your will, however difficult it may appear to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

Scriptures to ponder:

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. ~1 Corinthians 13:3

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
~John 13:35

To view "The Face Of Christ" click here