When My Heart is Aching

I have never known anyone who wants their heart to ache. Yet, I think that heart ache is a very important part of life.

According to Webster, the definition for ache is “ to suffer a usually dull persistent pain; to become distressed or disturbed) as with anxiety or regret); to feel compassion; to experience a painful eagerness or yearning.”

There are things all around us that can make our hearts ache. I get a magazine from an international adoption agency, and every time it comes, I look at the children from around the world that are waiting to be adopted. And my heart aches for them.

Heartache can occur for many reasons. Perhaps someone has hurt our feelings, someone we love is suffering, or we have somehow lost a relationship. My heart often aches for Jimmy, my husband, because he lives in constant pain and I so want to be able to help him.

Could it be that having our heart ache can bring about good?

I know with Jimmy’s situation, my heartache has made me love him in a deeper way. He needs me now more than ever. I thank God for every day we have together.

How do you think Noah’s wife felt as she heard the screams of her friends and family once the ark was closed as they begged to come in, but it was too late? Or when all was silent because they had drowned? Yet she moved on, and was able to start over again in a new place, probably with a deeper commitment to bring change.

The lesson we learn from this tragedy is that time is short: there will come a time when it will be too late to make the decision to follow the Lord. So God is calling us to “make the most of every opportunity, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). As we go through our lives and encounter many who still do not know the Lord, may our hearts ache for their salvation.

Thank goodness for God’s redemption in our lives. He brings healing, restores relationships, and moves us to higher ground.

May the aches the Lord places on our hearts inspire us to do something to bring about change. If the ache is for orphans of the world, may we take the step to help them. If the ache is for a hurting loved one, may we take the step to nurture them. If the ache is for those who do not yet know the Lord, may we take the step to show them a picture of Him through our lives.

Yes, an aching heart is good. It moves us out of our ordinary lives and gives us the opportunity to be extraordinary, and to know an extraordinary God who loves us.

Psalms 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.”

Anne