Turning Ashes Into BeautySýnishorn

A new day has come, and with it, new possibilities and hopes. Today, I want us to consider one of the Psalms that has given me hope when traveling the rough potholed road life offers. Psalm 147 holds familiar words often quoted to help us find hope: “He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Ahhhh! These words of hope certainly allow us to recognize God’s character of love and caring and His great healing powers. But why were these words written, and what do they mean to us today? Do they still apply? They are healing words, but can we know this healing personally today?

Psalm 147 was most likely written when Nehemiah and the people in Jerusalem finished rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and gates. Their collective world had been turned upside down when God had allowed the Babylonians to invade their city seventy or so years before. Many of these folks had been taken to Babylon in captivity. They had endured utter humiliation, hardship, sorrow, and, I imagine, a hefty dose of trauma from all the fallout of living as captives. And then, after a long time, God allowed them to return to their beloved Jerusalem. Finally, they were heading home. But when they arrived, the reality set in. God had returned them to a city in complete ruins.

Devastation and destruction were everywhere! What the people had left behind was no longer standing; their city and homes were in shambles. Imagine a war zone. Everything was debris and rubble. What a mess! They had finally built a bearable life in captivity in Babylon. They had adapted to this life, and now they are back in Jerusalem, standing in the wreckage and ruin of their former happy life. They had to start again, rebuilding everything that had now been shattered. Perhaps they still experienced nightmares triggered by their years of suffering. Maybe trauma had become their constant companion. We tend to forget that these folks were people just like us. They were not made-up characters of extraordinary resolve and steel backbones, but human beings made of flesh and blood. They hurt as we hurt. They, at times, lost hope in the messiness of life, just as we do. They were traumatized and dysregulated, just like we can be. They had their otherwise bearably passable world turned upside down again! Their wounds that needed God’s healing touch were most likely not physical, but emotional. And those wounds most likely stung, smarted, and hurt. Can you relate?

The good news, friend, is that God still heals the brokenhearted. The Hebrew word for brokenhearted is shabar, which means shattered or broken. Think of a broken mirror. A million scattered pieces. No possible way to restore it. No way can that kind of brokenness be refurbished or rebuilt by man. The tiny pieces of mirror shards would have only one chance of repair, which would be in the hands of the God of all creation—the God Who has the title Jehovah Rapha, the God Who heals.

Jehovah Rapha doesn’t just put broken people back together. No, the God Who heals doesn’t glue pieces back together; He brings perfect healing. Think of a new mirror with new silvering applied to whole polished glass to make the surface reflective and transparent. A mirror that was once ashes (shards) and is now beauty. That is how Jehovah Rapha works. He is a God Who heals.

So, does He still do this today? Do these words still apply? Yes, emphatically yes, this healing is God’s desire for us, His children. He still bandages our broken hearts and heals our wounds. Look to Him today. Ask Him for what you need. Tell Jehovah Rapha how you are feeling and how, in faith, you are trusting in Him alone to make the shards of your life whole and brand new once again.

Psalm 147:1-5 NLT

1 Praise the LORD! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting!

2 The LORD is rebuilding Jerusalem and bringing the exiles back to Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

4 He counts the stars and calls them all by name.

5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!