Almost every day in my office, we have people call with an emergency. Usually, it is a broken tooth. Sometimes they have pain with the broken tooth and others do not have pain. I am amazed at some of these broken teeth that just don’t hurt. I am thankful for the patients that it doesn’t hurt. Sometimes, I can fix or save the tooth with a filling or a crown, depending on the size of the break. The national average for the restoration is 7-10 years for either choice. Most of the time, crowns last a lot longer but they still will have to be replaced. I have even caught myself saying, we are going to put your “permanent” crown on your tooth today. The only thing in dentistry that is permanent is an extraction. Everything else will have to be replaced at some point in time.

Even though I want my dentistry to last my patients forever, I know that it has a finite lifespan. However, the good Lord can take our brokenness, our spiritual brokenness, and heal it permanently. When the Lord heals our broken spiritual heart, it is a permanent fix. In the scripture, we see how God heals the broken hearted…

Psalm 51:17 NASB says “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

And Psalm 34:18 NASB says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

The International Bible Encyclopedia says “A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt.” This guilt is an awareness of our sin before and against God. He cannot use a proud, self-sufficient heart. It has to be broken so that it can be rebuilt. Remember in the last few blogs, we talked about how we are a new creation. He alone creates within us a new spiritual heart. With this new heart that is yielded and obedient to Him, He molds and shapes us. He heals us from ourselves.

Psalm 147:3 NASB says “He heals the brokenhearted. And binds up their wounds.”

Jeremiah 30:17 NASB says “For I will restore you to health And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord…”

We are aware of our sin condition before God, and we know we must do something to be right with God. So, God in His endless love sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins. He paid the price. In fact, Paul said in Colossians 2:10 KJV, “And ye are complete in him, …” As matter of fact, He didn’t stop there; He sent a Comforter to live within us and guide us on our journey. Philippians 1:6 says “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect (complete) it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Now we see that God’s work is permanent. Nothing on earth is permanent. Only God and His Word are permanent. Even though we like to think of things like houses, buildings, and even dental crowns as being permanent, we can see that only eternity with God is permanent. Have you made your relationship with God permanent? God says in Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”

Dr. Barker and the Searcy Family Dental family strive to develop lifelong relationships with their patients by combining the latest in dental technology and techniques, including dental implants, dentures, cosmetic dentistry, and root canal treatments with a professional and compassionate staff. If you’re looking for a new family dentist in Searcy, Arkansas or are in need of an oral cancer screening, dental implants, teeth whitening, tooth extraction surgery, dentures, and more, schedule an appointment today!