To Bind Up The Broken Hearted
Stories
Vision Stories
True Accounts Of Visions, Angels, And Healing Miracles
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners ... to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. (vv. 1-3a)
Roy Nelson, an attorney, who is a member of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church next door to the church I serve in Wauwatosa, told me of the unrelenting grief and depression he experienced after his wife's death from cancer at the age of 33. They had been married eleven years and she was the center of his universe. For months after Gail's death, in July of 1993, Roy felt numb and empty. He was seeing a pastoral counselor twice a week, but nothing seemed to help. Following Christmas, Roy said, he sank even lower, and wondered, "What is going to become of me?"
Then, he said, "One night as I knelt beside my bed, thinking that nothing really mattered and believing I could not bear the crushing burden of my grief, the thought came to me, 'If I ask God to carry my burden, God will.' " I admitted to God I couldn't do it on my own and called on God to take up my burden of grief and sorrow, and carry it for me so that I could get out from under it. My arms were lifted up to the sides and slightly in front. It wasn't voluntary. I did not do it. It wasn't any effort to hold them there. I felt something like electricity flowing from my heart, out of my chest, up through my arms, out my finger tips, and even out of the top of my head. I thought I must be deceiving myself. I thought, "This can't really be happening." Then a voice way in the back of my head said, "Don't doubt now, because this really is happening." I caught myself saying out loud, "God, I do believe. I know it's you doing this. I know you are helping me; you are doing what I asked you to do. I do believe! I don't doubt!" And this process continued, this sensation of electricity coming out of my fingertips and out of the top of my head. I felt the burden being lifted. It didn't take very long, five minutes or so, and then my arms were lowered back down. I knelt there awestruck, absolutely awestruck that God cared so much about me, individually, that he would take my burden from me. The heaviness of the grief and depression was gone. I then felt something I had never felt in my life before: a peace and contentment being poured down through my head and filling my chest, filling my heart. I thought, 'This must be the peace of God. Thank you, God.' "
Roy says he still asks God to lift his burdens from time to time, and God does. Shortly after his healing experience, Roy met a marvelous woman who was singing in their church choir. Roy and MaryJean were married in August of 1994, and have two children. As of this writing, Roy is preparing to enter seminary.
Roy Nelson, an attorney, who is a member of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church next door to the church I serve in Wauwatosa, told me of the unrelenting grief and depression he experienced after his wife's death from cancer at the age of 33. They had been married eleven years and she was the center of his universe. For months after Gail's death, in July of 1993, Roy felt numb and empty. He was seeing a pastoral counselor twice a week, but nothing seemed to help. Following Christmas, Roy said, he sank even lower, and wondered, "What is going to become of me?"
Then, he said, "One night as I knelt beside my bed, thinking that nothing really mattered and believing I could not bear the crushing burden of my grief, the thought came to me, 'If I ask God to carry my burden, God will.' " I admitted to God I couldn't do it on my own and called on God to take up my burden of grief and sorrow, and carry it for me so that I could get out from under it. My arms were lifted up to the sides and slightly in front. It wasn't voluntary. I did not do it. It wasn't any effort to hold them there. I felt something like electricity flowing from my heart, out of my chest, up through my arms, out my finger tips, and even out of the top of my head. I thought I must be deceiving myself. I thought, "This can't really be happening." Then a voice way in the back of my head said, "Don't doubt now, because this really is happening." I caught myself saying out loud, "God, I do believe. I know it's you doing this. I know you are helping me; you are doing what I asked you to do. I do believe! I don't doubt!" And this process continued, this sensation of electricity coming out of my fingertips and out of the top of my head. I felt the burden being lifted. It didn't take very long, five minutes or so, and then my arms were lowered back down. I knelt there awestruck, absolutely awestruck that God cared so much about me, individually, that he would take my burden from me. The heaviness of the grief and depression was gone. I then felt something I had never felt in my life before: a peace and contentment being poured down through my head and filling my chest, filling my heart. I thought, 'This must be the peace of God. Thank you, God.' "
Roy says he still asks God to lift his burdens from time to time, and God does. Shortly after his healing experience, Roy met a marvelous woman who was singing in their church choir. Roy and MaryJean were married in August of 1994, and have two children. As of this writing, Roy is preparing to enter seminary.
