My pastor began a series on Nehemiah this week.
He talked about how Nehemiah heard that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. Though Jerusalem had been the land of his fathers, he’d never been there.
And yet, he wept and mourned for days over the condition of the Jewish homeland.
Our pastor then asked us…what breaks your heart?
As I sit here, I’m thinking about the things that break mine:
- Christian friendships that end on a sour note–something Satan so clearly loves.
- People in need, with no one to care for them.
- Cancer.
- Babies losing their lives before they even begin.
- People living in bondage–physical and spiritual.
- The widespread belief that has pervaded my own heart before–the one that says because I am going through the fire, God must not care about me.
- Those who are good people doing good things–and yet basing their beliefs on this idea that you can earn God’s love.
- Children suffering under the hand of those who would claim to love them.
- Women being tortured.
It’s enough to depress a person, really. Except, here’s the other thing to consider. If these things truly break our hearts, shouldn’t they move us into action?
Nehemiah didn’t just sit around bemoaning the fact that the walls of Jerusalem lay in shambles. Instead, he did something about it.
Maybe all you can do about some of these things is pray. Maybe it’s to give money. Maybe it’s to actually reach out and physically change the world.
As Christians, we are called to action, whatever that means. God plants causes in each of our hearts–the same thing doesn’t move all of us in the same way. And that’s okay.
Remember too–God is ultimately in control. If He moves your heart in some way, He will equip you.
Your Turn: What moves you?
Anytime I think about people who are struggling through life alone…that seriously breaks my heart. And I think it's because I've been surrounded my entire life by amazingly supportive, loving people…the thought of walking through life and its challenges alone breaks my heart and makes me want to reach out…
Beautiful post, Linz.
Much of what breaks your heart breaks mine. Children hurting break my heart. Women trafficked, young girls sold into sexual slavery, loss of innocence. Break. My. Heart.
Ditto. Those are all heartbreaking things. I would add to my list marriages in trouble. I have so many friends who have gone through divorce, and the sorrow stabs.
Your post reminded me of the song, "Hosanna." Part of the bridge says: "Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause. As I walk from earth into eternity."
What a prayer to pray. Thanks for these thoughts today, Linz.
Very inspiring! Christians must ACT, not simply pray.
When I go to Bolivia to work with the Quechua, I am ACHING for the souls up high in the Andes. Those people are living hard scrabble lives and as our director said "their lives are hard and then they die".
To see old men weeping at the words of Jesus, who do not have to live in fear anymore, to be free of the demon-soaked beliefs that pin them down from infancy and control their daily lives.
Bringing hope to the hopeless moves me.
I love your point that we can do something about the things that break our hearts. Especially praying. And it's amazing to me how often, when something begins weight on our hearts, God opens a door we'd never even imagined for us to do something. Great post, Lindsay!
Nehemiah 6:3 moves me! It's one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture because it emphatically declares to the world (and yourself) what's important. It's that "one thing" (like Billy Crystal said in City Slickers). This verse inspires me to name the one thing that is most important to accomplish in this season, climb up on that wall, and don't come down or get distracted until it's done. Nehemiah ROCKS!
Hello, dear friend. I apologize for not stopping by sooner! It's been a crazy week in the Meyer household. 🙂 Looking forward to next week – and praying for your time with Melissa this weekend!
Thank you for this post today. So many things break my heart and it's a good reminder that when my heart is broken, God is calling me to help fix the problem in the ways I am able.
Children with special needs who do not live in families, but in orphanages- abandoned because of what the world sees as "imperfections". I have felt God calling me to reach out to these children and advocate for them. Their neglected lives fill my heart with grief.