Practical Help for the Little Broken-Hearted Ones

In the last post, we looked at a broken-hearted child in a broken home.  We looked at Scriptural truths that she can cling to.  When you work with children you know how very real their pain is.  In your heart you say, "Oh, I just wish I could take them all home with me!"  But the reality is that we cannot.   So what are some practical helps we can give them to not just survive, but thrive, in the homes in which God has chosen to place them.

1. First, determine whether the child knows the Lord Jesus as their own Saviour.  Only then will they have the power of God to draw upon to help them have victory through the difficulties of this life.  Remind them that God the Holy Spirit lives in them.  Remind them of how very much God loves them and that they belong to Him.  Remind them of Jesus' promise that He will never leave them nor forsake them.  Remind them that they have been given a new life in Christ to live for His glory.  

2. Encourage the child to be in the Word of God daily and give them a plan to use so they can actually do it.  I have a chart made up that goes through the book of Mark.  It tells what verses to read each day and has a space in which the child can write down one thing that they learn from those verses.  The child only reads about 10 verses each day, so it is very do-able.  You can do that for any book of the Bible.  Ask the child what God has been teaching them from His Word the next time you see them.  

3. Pray with the child right there and then when they talk with you about their situation or difficulty.  Tell them you will continue to pray for them, and then make sure you DO!

4. Encourage the child to pray when the difficulty raises its ugly head again.  Give them suggestions as to how they can pray.  
If it's a people issue, encourage them to pray for the  the person who troubles them.  Encourage them to pray that God will be at work in that person's life for good, and for their salvation.  They can ask God to give them grace and patience to respond to that person in a kind way.  
If it's a circumstance, the child can pray for God to give them wisdom, peace, and the strength to endure.                             

5. I tell the child that people are watching them.  If they say that they know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, others will watch to see if knowing Christ really makes a difference in a life.  If they can respond to difficulties in a way that honors God, they will have opportunity to tell others about Him.  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

God is not arbitrary.  He has chosen this home for this child.  He knows what He is doing. He knows what He is preparing them for.   He is using these difficulties in their lives for their good- to grow them to be more like the Lord Jesus.   

Our job is to uphold these little ones in prayer, to be available to counsel and encourage them in the Word of God, and to be there for them when they need a shoulder to cry on and arms to wrap around them in love.  

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good 

to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined 

to become conformed to the image of His Son..." 

(Romans 8:28-29)

God of all comfort

The Shunammite Woman

And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.  So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, the Shunammite woman!  Please run now to meet her and say to her, 'Is it well with you?  Is it well with your husband?  Is it well with the child?'"  And she answered, "It is well."  Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away.  But the man of God said, "Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress." -2 Kings 4:25-27

The Shunammite woman had just lost her only child to death.  Her husband could not help her.  Elisha’s servant could not help her.  There was only one who could.  She went straight to the man that represented God. 

Sometimes there are things in our lives that are so heart-wrenching that no human agent can comfort us.  But there is One we can go to.  We have a great High Priest that has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.  So let us hold fast to Him, for He is a high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.  He knows our anguish, and He cares. 

In March 2001 I received a telephone call informing me that my three year old nephew had been killed in a car accident.  I lay on my bed sobbing.  All I could do was cry out, “Oh, God!  My God!”  

Sometimes the hurt in our lives is so deep that we do not even have the ability to formulate the words to express our agony of soul.  But in those times, God is there, and He has already made provision for us.  “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26)

That day the Lord proved Himself to me to be the Comforter.  He held me in His arms like a little child.  When hard things come into your life, go straight to the Lord.  Let Him comfort you.  He is the God of all comfort.

We ought always to pray and not lose heart

Until the Day Breaks...  is a book written by Patricia St. John about the life and work of Lilias Trotter, a missionary to Muslims in North Africa in the early 1900's.  In the book she includes a story that has been an encouragement to me to persevere in prayer.
I share the excerpt with you here:



     In a small booklet called Vibrations, Miss Trotter told of a day when the wall of her house had suddenly, without warning, fallen inwards.  She had sent for a builder to repair it but he first asked to investigate the cause.  On returning from his exploratory trip outside he explained that the kneading machine in the baker's shop next door had been vibrating against her wall every night for twenty years, gradually weakening the structure.  Every stroke of the seesaw-like machine had done its work but only the last had brought about the destruction.
     She believed with all her heart in that vibration of prayer that would gradually but insistently weaken the solid front of Islam.  For forty years she did her part and died content, and we who follow have sought to carry on that quiet rhythm.  Already there are those cracks in the wall of which we may not speak, but she knew and we know that not one vibrations is lost.  Every one does its work and we cannot tell how soon or how late the great barrier will crumble.  May God grant us the patience to live in faith and hope and, if necessary, to die not disappointed, because- "The vision is yet for an appointed time.  It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.  Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay." (Habakkuk 2:3)

Persevere in prayer and don't lose heart!