Arms of Love (52 page)

What (or who) has broken your heart? Or what do you feel will break it?

Imagine talking with Jesus personally. Ask Him about the brokenness or fears listed above. How does He respond to you?

If you could not think of what He would say, read the Psalms for three minutes—any of them that you like. Do you find any mention of brokenness in God’s Word?

What have you learned from being brokenhearted that you would not have learned any other way?

Prayer
: Dear Lord, thank You for this brokenness in my life, because I know You have planned for my healing. Thank You for what You are doing through these times. Help me to release all fear, worry, grief, and anger to You and to know that this brokenness will draw me closer to You if I allow it.

Day Two: The “Binding Up” Process

Author’s Insight
: I have often said that “God is the best surgeon; He just sometimes chooses to operate without anesthesia.” It’s a quote that gets me through the rough times in life, and sometimes, repairing a wound and binding it up hurts more than the original wound itself. To a large extent, this is what PTSD is all about. People “make it through a trauma” but then have to deal with the harsh reality of it later in life. It seems unfair to have to continually relive a suffering, or to have something haunt you again and again. But God has a solution in Christ “to bind up the brokenhearted.”

Novel Question: How does this story work to explain that being healed and transformed is not always an easy or painless process?

“Binding up” is a relatively old-time expression when it comes to medicine. It involves things like resetting bones, closing wounds, and enduring the process—all without the benefit of modern-day painkillers. When have you felt pain in the healing process, either physically, spiritually, or emotionally?

Now consider Christ as the One who is wrapping the wound in your life. How can concentrating on His nail-scarred hands lessen some of the pain of the process?

What needs “binding up” in your life—healing by the One who was sent for just such a purpose?

Prayer
: Dear Jesus, You know what it is to be wounded, to suffer. You loved me enough to come for such a time as this, to bind up my broken heart. Help me to surrender this time and pain to Your loving hands and to trust that all You do is for good as You work and bind.

Day Three: The King’s Proclamation

Author’s Insight
: Part of the backdrop to
Arms of Love
is the war and a very distant king. This king made proclamations that were unfair, taxation in particular. However, Jesus, who will come again as King, says that He makes a proclamation written in eternity, one that is more than fair, more than hope, and more than we can ever hope to understand. His proclamation is one of personal freedom, bought and paid for at His cost. There is no price or tax involved here—He offers freedom and eternal life with Him as a gift. This proclamation, like that of an earthly king, is meant to resonate throughout the land, but unlike an earthly king’s statement, Christ’s proclamation resonates throughout eternity. His is an everlasting gospel, good news, of peace. Have you heard what the King has to say?

Novel Question: What does God proclaim to the characters throughout this story?

What have you heard God proclaim in your own life?

What do you long to hear Him proclaim?