October 1, 2026
Have you ever had your heart hurt? I'm not talking about a medical hurt, but an emotional hurt. One of the hardest things for me to navigate, and even understand, is emotional hurt. The kind of hurt where you don't understand what you have done or how to even go about fixing it.
For some reason, the other person just doesn't seem to like you, care about your feelings, or even seem to notice that you are hurting. There have been times in my life when I have felt this way. In the last few years, it seems like the instances have happened more frequently.
I will admit I have very soft feelings, which actually cause me to not say anything right off the bat when I feel like my heart is hurt. I usually analyze the situation, and most of the time I will convince myself that it is something that I have done. Maybe I said something with the wrong tone, asked one too many questions, or voiced my opinion when it wasn't requested. I have a habit of placing the hurt in my hands before I place it elsewhere.
My heart is actually to love everyone well, so when I feel like they are misjudging or dismissing me, it hurts my heart. Trust me when I say it can be exhausting living this way.
I read something the other day in a book that stuck with me. The author said something along the lines of I'm just a girl who wants her heavenly Father to be the dad who wants nothing more than to fix what hurts my heart and makes no sense to me. I had to really let this thought sink into my soul. The only conclusion and truth I could come up with is that He does. He just does it in His time.
I have to be patient, trust, and look for lessons along the way.
Here are a couple of things I know but seem to have to keep reminding myself when my heart hurts. First, God will sit with me when my heart has been hurt. Psalms 34:18 says, "The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken; He saves those whose spirits have been crushed." When your heart is hurting, God will always be there to comfort with compassion and fill the places in your hurting heart.
Second, heartache is never wasted with God. 2 Corinthians 1:4 says, "He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." God will comfort us and, in turn, allow us to share that same comfort with those we come in contact with. Our heartache will not be wasted because God will give us future opportunities to comfort others.
One of the last things I will share is something a counselor told me one time. She said, you have to be able to give to give. In other words, we should give to others purely for the sake of love and helping, not expecting anything in return. That can be really hard at times, especially when you are experiencing heartache.
The truth is, heartache trains us to love the way God loves us - unconditionally. Heart hurts are extremely difficult and even harder to understand. However, our example to follow is our Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father will be right there with us in our deepest pain, comforting our broken hearts to allow us to love others with the same unconditional grace He gives to us. He is the ultimate healer of heartache.
Allow the lines of one of my favorite songs to play in your head and heart. "Even when it hurts, I'm not letting go; for the Lord my God is faithful, this I know - THIS I KNOW."
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Jill Johnson finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother, and Georgian. Jill is retired from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
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