As I take a look at what our spiritual ancestor Paul said in his written letter to the local church community, I see some wisdom that can help us heal our broken hearts. So many things happen throughout our lives that cause us grief, loss and trauma, at so many various levels, that if we don't find ways to heal our broken hearts, we will find ourselves going down a path that we will regret. We can all tell stories of heartache in our own lives and the lives of our family members. We are all too familiar with these stories that hit home in so many different ways.
Some verses in Ephesians reveal our true spiritual blessings. This is what will give us hope for the future and heal our broken hearts. Let's look at three ways we receive spiritual blessings.
Ephesians 1: 4 says, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."
#1 Spiritual blessing: God chose us before the creation of the world and as a result of being chosen we are to be holy and blameless in God's sight. When Paul uses the word blameless, one inference of this is that we can be a person who is trusted by others. God chose us so that others can trust us.
As we all know, many times when we are stuck in addictions or not living for God, we do things that cause others to distrust us. So when we are a person who can be trusted it brings about healing in our lives to ourselves and to those around us. This is a spiritual blessing. Renewed trust will bring healing.
Ephesians 1: 5 says, "In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will."
#2 Spiritual blessing: Because of His love for us, God chose to adopt us as His children. Many of us in the Indigenous community were adopted and raised by other people. I am from what is called in Canada "The Sixties Scoop." Many people who were adopted or ended up in foster care did not end up in safe homes and experienced trauma similar to that experienced by those in residential schools.
It is great to know that as these people are healing from the trauma in their past, if they believe in Jesus, they can experience the great privilege of being a child of God. This spiritual blessing allows us to feel the hope of healing our broken hearts.
Ephesians 1: 6 says, "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."
#3 Spiritual blessing: Jesus Christ has freely given us grace. It wasn't forcefully, and involuntarily given, but willingly given. We can heal our broken hearts knowing that we receive this grace.
What is grace? Grace is the fact that God has not given us what we deserve-separation from God because of our sin. Grace is everything that God gives us as a free gift. Our salvation can't be earned. Our freedom from sin can't be earned. We don't work our way to God. He saves us and gives us all of these spiritual blessings for free. Then, as a result of our knowing that He has given us all these spiritual blessings, we in turn, freely give our lives to Him. We give our lives and hearts to Him to serve Him until we take our last breath of air.
To learn more about spiritual blessings, read Ephesians, a letter Paul wrote to all believers in Jesus. You can also start going to a church where you feel comfortable and learn more about this Jesus. Learn more about God. Learn more about how He can heal your broken heart that may be scarred from the grief, loss and trauma of the past. Come to Jesus; He will heal your broken heart.
Parry Stelter is a Bible teacher, author and speaker. He is founder of Word of Hope Ministries. If you are interested in having Parry present a workshop on dealing with grief, loss and trauma, contact him at parry@ wordofhopeministries.ca.
