Step Towards a Life of Healing with God’s Grace
Heartbreak and rejection run deep. But God’s grace meets you there — and his power is being made perfect in your weakness, not despite it.
Sources of Heartbreak
I imagine you clicked on this blog post because you know a thing or two about heartbreak and disappointment. You know what it feels like to be left out, looked over, forgotten, or rejected. You know the sadness and shame that often come with realizing painful and perplexing patterns in your life. You know what it’s like for your heart to cry out into the void, Love me, choose me, see me, know me.
Maybe for you that cry is about true friendship.
Or maybe that cry is about love or marriage.
Maybe for you, that cry is about the relationship you never had with your parents.
Or maybe that cry is about a world you dream of being in. Like the arts. Or athletics. Or ministry.
The pain of heartbreak and rejection can carve deep grooves into how we see ourselves, what we believe is still possible, and what we think we deserve.
God wants to heal your heart, your life, and your story. He wants to restore peace to your mind and any other area in your life where you feel doubt, discouragement, and even despair.
The Journey to Wholeheartedness
Wholeheartedness invites us to examine the beliefs we’ve been carrying and decide what we will believe moving forward. It calls us to the work of seeing ourselves more clearly and honoring the truths we discover along the way. This is where we need to turn to the truth of God’s Word.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9–10, one of my favorite passages of all time, it says,
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
The truth of these words not only inspires me, it anchors me in a biblical understanding of wholeness. First off, these verses remind us that, because of God’s grace, we are never truly broken. His grace meets us in our most vulnerable moments and transforms them into opportunities.
When Paul talks about God’s power being made perfect in weakness, he’s revealing the truth about each of our stories. Every day we’re in the process of being made perfect—that is, “complete,” “accomplished,” “brought closer to the end goal,” and “fulfilled,” according to the other translations of the original Greek word (teleioō) for “perfect” in this verse.
Every Day is One Step Closer to Healing
Every day, through our various circumstances, we are moving toward healing and wholeness, the verse implies. Thus, we can consider that things may be happening for us, and not to us, to get us there. God’s power will see to it.
So maybe your life was once filled with laughter, date nights, inside jokes, and the steady hum of companionship. And now the soundtrack of your life has been cut off. The word broken plays repeatedly in your mind. Broken heart. Broken trust.
Indeed, life and love may wear us down, but we are still tethered by God’s grace. Yes, we may feel broken at times, but we are being held up and held together by a power greater than you or me. At every juncture in our journey, God’s power is being made perfect in us. Our heartbreaks, failures, and disappointments aren’t roadblocks to God’s work in our lives but are often the very places his power shines brightest.
Don’t Deny Your Feelings
We don’t have to deny our heartache either. For sure, pain must run its course. But in these moments, we can recognize that while grace holds us together, God’s power is quietly at work, shaping us in ways that bring us closer to his goals.
In fact, when you think about being wholehearted, you might imagine someone who is strong, independent, and in control. But that’s not the biblical picture. At least not fully. Wholeheartedness isn’t based on our independence or self-sufficiency. We can’t pursue it with our own strength or perfection.
Because wholeheartedness relies on God’s grace. It acknowledges that our weaknesses are the very spaces where God’s power rests. The moment we feel we’ve hit rock bottom is often the very moment God fills us with his strength. Grace is the reason we are not broken. Grace is the gold joining in the broken pottery. Grace fills in the gaps.
Reflection: How can you trust God with your weaknesses when it comes to your hurt and healing?
If you liked this blog, check out The Wholehearted Way by Peace Amadi. We love how she walks you through the steps towards healing from heartbreak and shows you how to embrace a Christ-centered view of rejection, hurt, and yourself.
Dr. Peace Amadi, PsyD, is a professor, speaker, coach, and mental health expert. She is the author of Why Do I Feel Like This? and the coauthor of the children’s book series Chichi & Didi. An award-winning professor of psychology, Dr. Amadi has spoken on the TEDx stage on the effects of social media on our mental health. She lives in Houston, Texas.
