The Lord Is Near to The Brokenhearted

 

THE LORD IS NEAR TO THE BROKENHEARTED

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.

Deuteronomy 4:7

For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. 

    ONLY the brokenhearted will approach God; the arrogant have no place at His table. The brokenhearted soul seeks comfort in times of grief, sorrow and pain. At the feet of Jesus, Who experienced grief, sorrow and pain, we meet Someone Who knows all our troubles, all our secrets and all our wants. 

    When we realize Who God really is, we also realize that we are very blessed to have this God love us and care for us and help us through life. We surrender our hearts and our lives to God and become His humble servants, knowing that He is with us all the time. 

    Psalm 147:3

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

    He does, indeed, heal the brokenhearted. The mournful know joy in the presence of The King. Even when our hearts get broken again and again and again, over and over and over. Though darkness rules this world, its rule is temporary; God is God and His Word is True. But while darkness reigns, death reigns. Unless. Unless the soul that seeks God finds God and learns to see The Light of God's Salvation for themselves. Then The Light of God's Love will shine into their hearts and make Itself at home there. 

    It is good to be brokenhearted before The Lord, for then He will come near and make His presence known. The broken heart will surely repent of all its sins against God and seek His forgiveness that their heart might be healed of all unrighteousness. For it is only by the stripes across His back that we are healed at all. 

    There were two men hanging near Jesus on their crosses. At first both taunted Him (Matthew 27:44). But then, according to Luke 23:39-42, one thief called Jesus "Lord", an acknowledgement that He knew Jesus was different than they themselves and he asked to be remembered when Christ came into His kingdom. That thief's request was granted. Jesus' stripes healed his sins, too. 

    The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom, says King Solomon, the writer of The Book of Proverbs (Proverbs 9:10). To not have this fear and believing that one can approach God without it is a fool's errand and no such person will be able have any kind of access to God. 

    Broken hearts get mended. But hardened hearts get crushed. It is amazing to me to know that even when facing God in their last moments that many will still choose not to see Him, not to hear Him, not to fear Him. Revelation 6:16 tells us that in the face of God's wrath, the wealthy ran and hid in caves begging for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from God. They are fools. God sees everything and everyone. He knows who belongs to Him and who does not. He knows who fears Him and who reviles Him. 

    I belong to Him and He belongs to me. Can you say that? 

I COME BROKEN 

WORD OF GOD SPEAK

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

GOD HELP ME NOW

Thankful For Brokenness

 

Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,

 and they all drank from it.

Mark 14:23

Jesus, knowing what lay ahead of Him, knowingly gave thanks to God for what was about to happen in the next few hours and coming days. Can any of us say that? 

He knew that His body would suffer and be broken, that His blood would spill out onto not only the ground, but the sins of all the people in the whole wide world. 

He knew and He answered the call His Father had laid on Him to be His Father's Holy Lamb of God which would take away the sins of the world, not just cover them up. 

He knew He would remain silent before His accusers unless prompted by His Father to speak to them. 

He knew the what, the why and the how.

BUT

He also knew the outcome.

And He knew the Victory. 

I Let Myself Be Broken

To the ones who broke my heart, I let myself be broken. While it made you feel powerful and superior, I allowed myself to be humbled and humiliated.

God said, “Present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” [Romans 12:1] My heart is part of my body. Therefore, I let myself be broken.

God said, “Rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings (partaker: share in, receive, have a portion of); that, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the Name of Christ, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. But do not allow yourself to suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. [1 Peter 4:13-19] Christ let Himself be broken for me, and you. When you revile me for trying to be what God is telling me I need to be, I let myself be broken.

God said, “And whether one member (of the body) suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.’ Whether it is our physical body that suffers, or our spirit man that suffers, we suffer together. The persecuted church is us. All of us. While some attacks on the body of Christ are made known to the world, most will never be heard until judgment day. The body of Christ was broken in the courtyard and on the cross. He surrendered to God’s will for His life, as should we. We need to let ourselves be broken. Not for our glory, but for God’s. 

You who persecute God’s people beware: we are praying for you. We are praying for your salvation. We are praying for your sanctification. We are praying for your souls to be given to God through His Son Jesus Christ. We are praying. And there is nothing you can do to stop us. We have let ourselves be broken. I let myself be broken. And someday many of you will let yourselves be broken, too.