5 Uplifting Scripture Verses to Heal a Broken Heart

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 ESV

Psalm 73 was written by Asaph and opens Book III of IV in the Psalms. In this psalm, Asaph reflects on how he almost stumbled spiritually because he let himself become envious of the wicked and the prosperity they enjoy. At one point, he began to wonder if his choice to be obedient to God made any sense. “All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.” (Psalm 73:13) In God’s sanctuary, he regained his senses, remembering that God gives life but wickedness ends in death. What he learned is that even if his own flesh and heart fail (in other words, even if his spirit is broken or crushed), God still has a hold of him and will renew his strength. 

This Psalm is a transparent description of a believer entertaining the sin of envy and being tempted to wonder if following God is worth the struggle. It’s common that when we indulge one sin, the enemy pounces on the opportunity to tempt us to sin more. The remedy here was for Asaph to get to God’s sanctuary. He took his eyes off the world and put them back on God and His truth. Practically, you and I can do this by attending a worship service, reading God’s Word, engaging in private worship, or gathering with two or three others for prayer.

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“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:17-19 ESV

When we endure unexpected heartbreak, it’s common to wonder if God has rejected or is punishing us. David was not doing wrong when King Saul turned on him, attempting to take David’s life. The sin and the wrong were Saul’s but David suffered. He ran away to preserve his life. David penned Psalm 34 following an incident during this time recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-15. David fled to Achish of Gath in Philistia for refuge but when he realized he posed a threat to Achish (later called Abimelech), he changed his behavior and acted as if he’d lost his mind to allay Achish’s fear. 

The wisdom we can draw from this psalm is that in trouble, we can call out to God and know that He hears and delivers. He doesn’t reject us but draws near when we’re broken-hearted. We can also trust that even if we’re obeying God, heartaches may be many but God will deliver us, if not from them, then through them. So, listen to the Holy Spirit but don’t become overly self-reflective if you are not harboring sin. Call out to God in prayer and trust He hears and will deliver you in His time.

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“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3 ESV

Psalm 147 is a hymn of praise. Its authorship isn’t clear. It may have been written to celebrate the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem after their exile to Persia. The context of verse 3 sounds as though that could be the historical setting. “The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.” (Psalm 147:2-6 ESV)

This psalm is a comfort to us that even if our own sin has caused the circumstances of our heartbreak, God will heal us and bind our wounds. Israel had turned their backs on God, worshipping idols so frequently He sent them into exile, but after a time, He brought them back and welcomed them into their Promised Land once again. Sin can result in brokenness but God heals and restores when we repent and humbly seek Him. In fact, at the reading of God’s Word in Nehemiah 8, the leaders tell the people not to weep but to celebrate. After repentance and forgiveness, they were encouraged to receive restoration.

God may heal us through His Word, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, fellowship with others, or opportunities for joy.

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“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” Isaiah 61:1 ESV

Some sources of our heartbreaks are death, disappointment, the sins of others, the sinful systems of the world, disease, pain, division, conflict, and our own sin. For thousands of years, men and women of faith trusted that God would send a Messiah who would cancel the power of sin and defeat death. Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 61 points to this Messiah, and when Jesus read a portion of it in the synagogue (recorded in Luke 4), He concluded the reading saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21 ESV).

Even when Jesus was about to face crucifixion, on the night He was betrayed He addressed His disciples’ hearts saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” John 14:1 Jesus knew the truth of Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” He told the woman at the well in John 4:14 that anyone who drinks the water He offers will find that water is “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Choose to follow Jesus. He is the One who heals and who holds the power even over death.

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“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 ESV

There are devastating circumstances that create such impossible heartbreak that we can’t imagine our hearts ever being whole again. Consider Corrie ten Boom facing the loss of her sister inside a Nazi concentration camp. Consider parents losing children to senseless deaths. Consider persecuted believers confined to labor camps or repeatedly imprisoned, all for the name of Jesus.

There are terrible heartaches whose sole comfort is that, for the Christian, death is only a door leading to eternal life. Some of us must hold onto this hope that awaits like survivors at sea clinging to wreckage and scanning the horizon for rescue. We pray and we wait.

One day, Christ will return and make all things new. When that day comes, hard as it is to imagine from this outpost of glory, God will wipe every tear from our eyes. He promises that death will be no more and we will never again mourn, cry, or experience pain.

Hebrews 11, that “hall of faith,” tells of some believers who experienced victory and miracles on earth but others who faced torture and death. All had their eyes on “a better country, a heavenly one.” (Hebrews 11:16). 

If glory is your only hope, it is a sure one. Let that bolster your heart until, at last, you arrive home.

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