How to Survive and Thrive Your Broken Heart
It feels impossible. You don’t know how you’re going to survive, let alone thrive with your broken heart.
Who didn’t love you?
Your boyfriend? Girlfriend? Parent?
Your spouse? Your best friend? Your child?
The truth is, life’s relationships are hard, and people can be selfish.
Sadly, we can’t make everyone love us. And I’ve come to understand both from experience and from watching others, that the greater the love and closer the relationship … the greater the severity of the pain.
How do you and I survive a broken heart? How do we thrive when we don’t even want to get out of bed?
David told us to take our pain to the Lord…
The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help.
Psalm 34:17–18
He rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
So, let’s start with prayer and make a list of ways to…
Survive and Thrive Your Broken Heart
♥ Pray
Ask God to give you His peace, strength, and the ability to forgive.
I’ve learned that it’s almost impossible to let go of painful emotions if I won’t surrender them to the Lord and ask Him to replace them with His good gifts.
Remember His promise to His children…
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
♥ Cling to God’s Promises
God always keeps His promises. He always has, and He always will.
The Lord always keeps His promises;
Psalm 145:13b
He is gracious in all He does.
He promised that nothing can separate us from His love, demonstrated in and through Jesus.
No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:39
♥ Give Yourself Time to Heal.
Grieving any loss takes time.
“Take all the time you need to heal emotionally. Moving on doesn’t take a day. It takes a lot of little steps to be able to break free of your broken self.” ~Author Unknown
♥ Stop Reliving the Rejection
Mentally reliving our pain ultimately robs us of our peace, contentment, and joy. When we are overwhelmed by pain, it’s time to give it to God and ask Him to fill us with hope for the future yet again.
“Today I choose to let go of pain, hurt, resentment, sadness, guilt, and negativity that I’ve been holding onto and allowing to control my life. Today I choose happiness and above all love.” ~Author Unknown
♥ Do What Gives You Joy
Moments of peace and joy do not deny what happened or the love we felt. It’s easy for us to believe that happiness denies our grief and pain. It doesn’t. We need to continue doing the things we love, while living with hope for tomorrow.
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
♥ Invest in People You Love and Who Love You
Don’t let your broken heart define you. Embrace the people who are there, who love you. Embrace what is and expect blessings to come your way.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10a
Repeat as often and as long as necessary. And remember, giving it to God in prayer is most important. Turn to Him and trust Him; He will heal your broken heart.
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Survive and Thrive Your Broken Heart
Father God, I thank and praise You for never leaving or forsaking me. People may. Some have. But You never have, and You never will.
Thank you for Jesus, who lived through the pain of rejection and betrayal. He took on my punishment and endured being forsaken, so I never have to be.
When I cry out with my broken heart, You understand. You come close and collect my tears. (Psalm 34, 37, and 56) You invite me to surrender my pain to Your loving compassion and care.
Thank you for Your promises that give me strength to endure today and hope that Your healing power will provide a better tomorrow. Please help me stop mentally replaying this rejection and replace my painful memories with Your encouraging promises.
Give me the desire to do the things that bring me joy. And by Your grace, help me see the people who love me with gratitude and grace. I believe I can survive and even thrive with the help of Your all-sufficient grace.
I love You! I worship You! I praise You! Amen.
Paul wrote the following words to encourage us to rely on God’s amazing grace…
So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
2 Corinthians 12:7–9
We don’t know the source of Paul’s pain, and I believe that’s because the Lord wants us to apply His words confidently to any distressing pain.
God’s grace is sufficient, even when our hearts are broken. He loves us most and best, giving His Son to save us. He promises to hear every cry from our hearts and prayer from our lips.
I believe He will reach down with love to rescue you and me. He will heal our broken hearts. And I believe, because He has and continues to heal mine. He even gave me these words of David as my life verse to help me remember…
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
May the Lord bless you and give you everything you need as He helps you survive and thrive your broken heart.
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Thank you for visiting, Claire, and for stopping to say “hello.” I appreciate you and your kind encouragement. God’s blessings!
What sage advice as always, Deb. Yes, we will all suffer from broken hearts at one time or another, but God truly is our strength and our portion forever. We can run to Him, knowing He hears our prayers and sees our tears with compassion and grace. Blessings!
Thank you, Martha! Yes, hurting hearts are part of this life. What a blessing that the Lord invites us to surrender our pain to Him and trust Him to help us endure until we thrive in faith and His love. Blessings and hugs! Enjoy a wonderful Mother’s Day Weekend!
There are times lately when I feel my spirit is being crushed. Thank you Deb for the reminder of the great power of prayer. Only He can heal, mend, change my heart.
I’m glad it blessed you, JoAnne. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this difficult time. I’m asking the Lord to hold you close and give you everything you need as you lean on Him. God bless you!
I sooo needed this encouragement today, Deb! I am going to keep and reread! Thank you sooo much! God knew just what I needed to hear! Have a blessed day! You have sure blessed mine! Hugs
I’m so very glad it blessed you, Kathy! It’s good to hear from you. I pray that you are doing well and that you enjoy a beautiful weekend. God’s blessings, dear friend!
God collects our tears in His bottle and knows them all. He knows our broken heart as no one else can. He understands as no one else can. This weekend is especially hard for me because it is Mother’s Day weekend. My heart is broken and the pain is still there from a broken relationship I have with a child. Also, it is a reminder of my mother’s death. I lost her 19 years ago today, the weekend before Mother’s Day. The consolation is that God cares and understands the hurt. He is so wonderful and I am so grateful to have HIM and HIS wonderful son, Jesus. Also, Deb, I am thankful for you and the friendship we share through this blog. You understand too. We both know why. Thank you once again for a beautiful post. And I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day. God bless you. Stay safe.
Yes, Sue, Mother’s Day can be difficult for many of us. It is a blessing to know the Lord understands our pain, gathers our tears, and gives us one another to encourage each other with faith, hope, and love. I’m so glad He brought you into my life to care and understand together. Praying for your this weekend. Blessings and HUGS!
I am brokenhearted, by not being rejected but by loss. My grief comes in waves, as you know. I had to check “widow” on a form yesterday, that was a wave of grief. I know you know how I feel Deb. I lost my best friend on 4/26. I have never been on my own before; but, Brent started preparing me for the last 2 years. He took care of me to the end.
I miss you by friend.
Love,
Karen.
I love the verse at the beginning of this devotional, Psalms 34: 17-18.
Oh, Karen, my heart breaks for you. I hate the word “widow”, too. And I never lived on my own before either. We were blessed with wonderful men. I remember when Brent drove 20+ miles to come to our house and shovel our snow the winter after Blake’s heart surgery. They were both so very kind and caring. Love you, dear friend. Miss you, too.
IN JESUS-YESHUA NAME I PRAY AMEN HALLELUJAH!!
Thank you for visiting, Kristi! God bless you!