365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 331: Binder of the Brokenhearted

Binder of the Brokenhearted

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

Of all the pieces of Jesus' beautiful job description in Isaiah 61, this is one of my favorites: "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted."

I needed to spend some time thinking about what it means to bind up the broken, because I think it shows both what our sweet Savior does for us and what He wants us to do for others.

The binder of the brokenhearted sees the break. He recognizes what is broken. I've heard of people who had a broken bone but didn't know it until years later, when they were having an x-ray for something else, and the old break was visible. Sometimes, we don't know we're broken. Sometimes, others need us to see their brokenness. During His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly noticed brokenness...a ministry all unto itself.

The binder of the brokenhearted protects the break. He wraps it in love, compassion, tenderness, and strength, covering it so that what is broken can mend.

The binder of the brokenhearted gives the break time to heal. He does not expect the injured person to put what is broken immediately back into action, into service, into use. What is broken is allowed to rest.

The binder of the brokenhearted checks on the break. He doesn't just wrap it up and ignore it. He examines it from time to time to make sure it is healing properly.

The binder of the brokenhearted treats the healed place gently. Even after the bindings are off and the break is pronounced restored, the injured piece is still protected.

And the binder of the brokenhearted celebrates new strength. Once what has been broken is knit back together and declared healed, it is not as it was before; it is stronger in ways that would not have been possible without the initial injury.

As Jesus' hands and feet, we can also be binders of the brokenhearted. We can recognize brokenness in our friends and family and co-workers and church acquaintances. We can wrap them in protection. We can give them time to mend. We can check on their recovery. We can treat them gently even after they are healed. We can celebrate new strength that comes out of weakness.

We can hear the words and heart of Jesus, accepting His job description and then passing it on to us: "The Sovereign Lord sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. Now, I am sending you."