Crazy Love Podcast

Episode: Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours | Francis Chan

Date: September 22, 2025
Host: Crazy Love Ministries
Speaker: Francis Chan

Overview

In this episode, Francis Chan reflects on the profound question: "What breaks your heart, and is it the same as what breaks God's heart?" Drawing from personal experience and biblical passages, Chan challenges listeners to examine their emotional lives—what makes them weep, get angry, or feel joy—and compare these responses to God’s own heart and priorities. He openly confesses his struggle in aligning his own emotions with God’s concerns, inviting the church to seek God's help in reshaping what moves them at the deepest level.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Self-Examination & Confession

• Francis Chan candidly admits that after previously preaching about mourning over sin, he was struck by how seldom he himself is truly broken over things that grieve God.
  • "When’s the last time I cried for someone’s... the last time sin didn’t just annoy me, but it broke my heart because I knew how much God hated it and how much it broke his heart?" (04:17, Francis Chan)
  • He calls out his tendency to let things roll off emotionally, admitting there's a negative side to that resilience—he can become numb to important matters.

2. The Biblical Pattern of Godly Grief

Francis Chan unpacks the biblical tradition of mourning for sin and injustice, citing multiple examples:

• Jeremiah ("the weeping prophet")—who not only confronted sin but did so with tears (02:22–04:47).
• Ezekiel 9—where God sets apart those "who sigh and groan" over the sins of the people for protection (12:48–14:14).
• Ezra 9-10—Ezra’s deep mourning and physical acts of grief over Israel's unfaithfulness (15:33–17:12).
• Daniel 9—Daniel’s heartfelt prayer and confession for his people’s sins (17:26–18:16).
• Nehemiah—who wept over Jerusalem’s ruined state—not for his own circumstances, but because he knew God’s name was dishonored (18:38–19:14).

3. Modern Christians and Emotional Misalignment

• Francis Chan observes that many believers today are more emotionally invested in trivial earthly matters than spiritual realities. He tells vivid stories, including:
  • The Warriors game incident: People weeping, fighting, and a traumatic event after a basketball game, contrasted with apathy toward spiritual lostness (06:41–10:16).
  • Personal stories: Grieving more over crashing a car or broken relationships than over spiritual matters (10:19–11:45).

"This is your whole life. This is what you'll cry over. This is what you'll fight over. This is what you'll kill for... Why do I care that much?"
(09:07–09:47, Francis Chan)

4. The Prophetic Task: Reward and Warning

• Every biblical prophet had two jobs: promise reward for obedience, and warn of punishment for disobedience (21:08–23:19).
• Modern context: Chan challenges that churches today emphasize only the promise of reward but avoid speaking about judgment, wrath, or hell because it’s unpopular.
  • "We live in a time where we only do half the job..." (23:19, Francis Chan)

5. God’s Heart and the Final Judgment

• The reality of punishment and hell: He expresses how infrequently people, including himself, allow themselves to contemplate the real consequences of spiritual lostness—which is why they lack tears.
  • "Only a couple times have I let my mind go there. And I just start bawling..." (24:27–26:55, Francis Chan)
• God’s character: God does not delight in the death of the wicked but grieves over lostness (29:10–29:15).
• Parental anguish: Chan recalls praying in tears for his daughter when she wasn’t walking with God (26:55–27:40).

6. Application to the Church Today

• Corporate grief over sin: The church is called to be a community marked by shared pain for things that grieve God, not just personal preferences or self-centered concerns.
• Holiness in practice: If God's Spirit is in us, sin becomes intolerable to us (30:59–33:13).

"When the spirit came into me, I became a slave to righteousness. My concern is that there's some of you... Are you okay with just continuing on in your sin and going, well, I hope he forgives me at the end?"
(32:56, Francis Chan)

• Call for authenticity: Chan openly says he doesn’t want to preach on this out of hypocrisy, but out of obedience. He wants to be marked by the same sorrows—and hopes—as God.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jeremiah’s Grief:
  "We have to be careful to not just confront what's wrong in someone's life without being sad over it. Otherwise, we become judgmental, we become self righteous, we come across angry rather than loving."
  (02:51, Francis Chan)

• On Emotional Misalignment:
  "God, because my heart isn't broken for the things that break your heart... Sometimes it's not even things you care about."
  (05:14, Francis Chan)

• Watching the World Weep for the Wrong Things:
  "This is your whole life. This is what you'll cry over... And I just looked at my own life and I'm going, God, what are the things I care about?"
  (09:07–09:47, Francis Chan)

• Godly Grief versus Worldly Grief:
  "God loves those who weep over the things that he weeps over... those who actually sigh and groan... ‘God, this isn’t what you made us for.’"
  (14:46–15:04, Francis Chan)

• On the Spirit’s Conviction:
  "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning. For God's seed abides in him. And he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."
  (30:56, Francis Chan, quoting 1 John 3)

Timestamps by Key Segment

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:34 | Francis Chan introduces the theme, personal confession | | 02:22 | Jeremiah: confronting and mourning over sin | | 06:41 | The Warriors game: misplaced passion and emotional energy | | 10:19 | Personal anecdotes: grief over material things vs. spiritual| | 12:48 | Ezekiel 9: God marks those who “sigh and groan” | | 15:33 | Ezra’s weeping and confession | | 17:26 | Daniel 9: prayer and fasting over communal sin | | 18:38 | Nehemiah’s grief for Jerusalem | | 19:18 | Haggai: misplaced priorities, paneled houses | | 21:08 | Prophetic roles: reward and warning | | 23:19 | Modern aversion to warning and judgment in church | | 24:27 | The reality and horror of hell | | 26:55 | Personal anguish over loved ones’ spiritual condition | | 30:59 | The mark of genuine repentance and the Spirit | | 33:43 | Final thoughts: hope for a church aligned with God’s heart |

Final Reflections & Challenge

Francis Chan lays bare his own struggle and invites listeners to join him in asking God to supernaturally align their hearts with His—mourning over sin, loving righteousness, caring less about trivial matters, and more about eternity. He urges communal accountability and prayer: "Let’s just call each other on that... When we have too many things we care about, we don’t have enough left in the tank for the things that matter." (34:45–35:58, Francis Chan)

If you want to realign your passions, begin with honest prayer:
"Break my heart for what breaks yours."