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

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Brokenness

 

Psalm 34:18

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7665 & 1793

Broken: to break, break in pieces, shattered

From the Hebrew word 'shabar' (pronounced shaw-bar') 

Contrite: crushed

From the Hebrew word 'dakka'' (pronounced dak-kaw')

THE SPIRIT OF CONVICTION

It is not we ourselves who break our hearts for God, but the Spirit of God who breaks the hearts of the believer to receive the good things God has prepared to fill the broken hearted with. It is the Holy Spirit, after all, who convicts the heart of sin (John 16:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).

John 16:7-11 Jesus tells His disciples that He needs to go away and why:

7. But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8. And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

9. in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10. in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;

11. and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

The Spirit of Conviction  pricks the hearts of they who hear the Word (Acts 2:37). In order to be restored into a right relationship with God in Christ, we must take the next step after the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts to believe.

THE NEXT STEP: CALLED TO REPENTANCE

Repentance:  I repent, I change my mind and think differently afterwards. (After what? after I believe.) Changed after being with God.

I repent. God forgives. Jesus Saves. The Holy Spirit restores.

Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 15:10; Luke 24:47; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Acts 3:19.

Acts 2:38, 39

38. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39. This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO SALVATION

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 6:40

For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11:25

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies."

THE PROMISE PROMISED 

Isaiah 44:3

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.

Joel 2:28, 32

28. And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.

32. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

THE GUARD

    We need to guard our hearts which have been broken not only by God but for God. We need to remain so close to Him we can hear His whispers and He can hear our prayers. For the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous, the cries of the brokenhearted, the longing of the heart to be with Him. 

    How do we guard our hearts with this purpose in mind? Stay in His Word: Read it, Live it, Breathe It. Yes, it's a very hard thing to do, isn't it? But we who repent of our sins are forgiven by the forgiving God Who forgives sins. And when we have repented, the Spirit of God restores us to God. 

    It is a good way to end the day before falling asleep, for tomorrow is not guaranteed to us. it's better, do you not agree, to fall asleep knowing we are forgiven than to fall asleep in our sins? It is also a good way to begin our day. O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner! The words spring from our hearts to our tongues and leap off of our lips into the ears of a hearing God. 

    We guard our brokenness, when we remain in a humble state of mind, remembering who we were before we believed in God's Christ for our salvation and how we came to be where we are now after receiving Christ and His Holy Spirit. 

     We guard our brokenness, when we remember that we are nothing without God. Nothing without His grace. Nothing without His mercy. Nothing without His lovingkindness. Nothing without His presence. Nothing. Nothing without His Christ. Nothing without His love. 

    We are maggots (Job 25:6). We are dust (Genesis 3:19). We are unclean (Isaiah 6:5). We are sinners (Luke 18:13). We need God. We need His Christ to save us: to wash away our sins. We need His Spirit to restore us to Him: make us holy and useful for His purpose. 

    Let us come near to God (begin to, and continue to, walk in His direction) and He will come near to us (see us coming and run to meet us). As in the parable of The Prodigal Son, which you may want to refresh yourselves with. (Luke 15:11-32)

GUARD YOUR BROKENNESS MEDLEY