“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).

If you’re anything like me this is the way we read this psalm – “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” I like the idea of God being near and saving me. That’s what I want. 

But look at the context in which God is near and saves. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.“

Too often we want God’s presence and salvation but aren’t willing to be brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. That’s a problem. There’s something about being brokenhearted by the things that wreck God’s heart, and being crushed in spirit by the happenings of our lives that draws us into God’s presence that we seek God’s salvation.

I don’t about you, but this pandemic stuff is getting old. This is hard. And particularly for those who live alone, this is a really, really, hard, crappy, lonely, desperate season.

If you find yourself here, good news. You’re a prime candidate for God’s presence and salvation.

Take a moment right now.

• Get silent.
• Close your eyes.
• Plant the soles of your feet on the ground.
• Turn your hands face up.
• Take ten deep slow breaths – breaths that completely fill your lungs and empties them.
• And ask for God’s presence to cover you and give you peace.

Make this a regular practice of your day. The way we not only make it through, but actually grow and mature during this season is by God’s presence and salvation. Really. Make this a daily practice.

“O LORD, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me? Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate” (Psalm 88:14-15)

Good news! You don’t have to always be okay. You don’t have to pretend that everything is fine when they’re not fine.

The verses for today don’t read like good news at first. But if you’ve ever been down, hurt, disappointed, depressed these are words of reality.

The Book of Psalms are the prayer book for the people of faith. In this book you will find prayers of praise and thanksgiving. But did you know that a third of the psalms are psalms of lament and complaint? A whopping third!!! That’s 50 out of the 150 psalms.

That’s one of the reasons why the Psalms are so beloved by the saints. When life hits us hard and we are down, when life hurts so much there aren’t even words to pray, it’s the psalms that gives us the language of prayer when we’ve run out of words.

This season we’re currently in hasn’t been easy. And for some, it’s been really tough.

Did you know God already knows how you feel? You don’t have to pretend that you’re doing okay. God’s big enough to handle our complaints and laments.

Here’s the reasons why:

• First, the mere act of complaining and lamenting is healthy. It’s bottling up our feelings that leads to disease of the soul and bodies.
• Secondly, and most importantly, after complaining and lamenting, after the venting and screaming, we have to find a way to move on. We can’t stay at complaining and lamenting. We have to eventually move on.

How does the psalmist move on? Every single psalm of lament ends with confession of faith and trust in God’s deliverance with the exception of Psalm 88 (the reason why Psalm 88 doesn’t end with a confession of faith and trust is a topic for another blog).

Good news! God can handle our complaints and whining. So, go ahead. Really. It’s good to get things off your chest to God. And after complaining, God will help you to find a way to move on to praise and thanksgiving.

 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1)

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples on the night of the Passover before he was crucified. He wanted to prepare his disciples for what they were going to face in the coming days.

One of the biggest fears of all human beings is death. Death has always been final. Death is inescapable. There is no way to cheat the inevitability of death.

It is in the face of Jesus’ impending death that Jesus speaks these words to his disciples. He tells them that death is not the end. In fact, he is going to prepare a place for the disciples and that he will come again one day to take his them home.

Here is the amazing thing about this passage. Jesus makes the claim that even in death we are not alone. He is present with us, preparing a place for us. He is there to lead us to the place prepared for us.

Friends, whatever it is you are going through today Jesus reminds you, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” Because you see, there is never a there where God is not there. 

Listen to that again: there is never a there where God is not there.

No matter what you are facing, God is with you. God is guiding you. God is leading you. You are never alone.

There.