The Lord Is Close To The Brokenhearted

The Lord Is Close To The BrokenheartedPsalm 34:17-19 “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.”Yesterday I talked about how the Lord is with us to deliver us.  If you are going through a hard time this can be hard to hear. You might want to believe it and yet you find it hard to see in your own life, especially if you have been struggling for a long time.  Maybe you have witnessed God delivering your friends from their situations while you still struggle with yours.  This can make it really difficult to believe that God is with you or that He will deliver you.  Sometimes we can be delivered from a situation quickly.  For instance, we pray for our child’s fever to go down, and it does.  However, sometimes it can take a long time to be delivered and sometimes the way we are delivered is not the way we wanted to be delivered.  I know how hard it is to hear that God will deliver you if you are stuck in a place you feel you have been for a very long time.  I struggled with parenting my children and in my marriage for over 10 years.  It was a very long uphill battle.  It was one where you get so excited because something you are doing is working, you are moving forward 2 steps and then the next day you are back 3 steps.  I know that is extremely frustrating.  I get it.  If this is you right now, maybe not the same situation or trouble, but the same feeling of 2 steps forward and 3 steps back I want you to know you are not alone.  I have been there and so many others are right there with you right now.  If this is you, this verse is for you also.“The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.” The Lord hears you when you call Him for help.  He hears you when you cry out that you are angry with Him.  He hears that you are worried and anxious about many things.  He hears that you are praying for healing for a loved one.  He hears that you want the perfect house.  He hears that you want the perfect wedding.  He hears that you are struggling and He rescues you from all your troubles.  The Lord will rescue you.  Even if you don’t believe that He will.  Even if you don’t understand how He will.  If you need proof that the Lord will come to rescue you, sit down with a paper and a pen and ask the Lord to show you where He has rescued you in the past.  The Lord is the same today, yesterday, and forever.  If He has rescued you in the past, He will rescue you again.  The next line says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” I love the imagery of this line.  “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.”  I just picture sitting on the Lord’s lap as I once sat on my dad’s lap.  I picture us as little children, going to our heavenly father with a broken heart.  I picture Him scooping us up onto his lap and pulling us in close for a hug.  Close your eyes and see if you can picture your head on His chest, just listening to His heartbeat. Just be there in His loving embrace.  Can you feel the warmth of His body and the strength of His arms that are holding you tight? Can you imagine how safe you feel in His arms?  This verse is talking about you.  You are the “brokenhearted.” God is talking to you. No matter what you are going through, God is near you.  He never leaves your side.  The next time you feel alone, the next time you feel like God has abandoned you, sit down and imagine Him right there with you.  I imagine you are sitting on His lap and He is holding you. The other day at prayer group one of the ladies and a vision of herself sitting on the Father’s lap.  She said she was filled with love and then she felt the need to get down so that she wasn’t taking up all His time.  She wan