We continue to live in a world that is spinning out of control. Everywhere you look you see massive levels of suffering—of heartache, of grief, of deep sorrow, and pain. People that we love are hurting, and for some of us, dying. Thankfully, in the middle of such mounting heartache, we know the end of the story. There will be a day where there is no pain, no more tears, no more wars, and no more death—NO more!” (Rev. 21:4). However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t feel heartbroken for what we witness every day we turn on the news—the brokenness is always near.
In times like these, when we’re overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, we need the lifeline of God’s Word. We need the reminders that we have a good God who walks intimately through every single heartbreak with us—even collecting our tears in His bottle. Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” I love the phrase, “you keep track.” That implies that nothing is lost, no tear, no cries in the dark, no prayers, not even our deepest groanings. They are all collected in His bottle because He cares that much. Our Good Father is always aware of each and every one…how comforting to have that kind of personal God.
We have a good God who walks intimately through every single heartbreak with us (Psalm 56:8).
I can think of no better place to turn when our hearts are overflowing with grief than the Psalms. Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted—and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Especially in these devastating days—in a world in chaos that feels endless—we have a God who is never far off, even though our feelings and the enemy may try to convince us otherwise. We are told two things here: That “the Lord IS”… that means now, today, this moment. He is everything we need for the heartbreak in this world we feel right now. Secondly, He is “close.” Some translations use the word “near.” Near to the pain we feel. Near to the loss that hurts. Near to the needs and anguish we have and can’t yet express. Near to the news our hearts don’t want to see and believe. Near to our anxious thoughts and broken hearts.
The closeness spoken here means we don’t carry our broken hearts alone. We don’t suffer alone. We don’t grieve alone, because Jesus Himself comes even closer to carry our hurts with us. I envision curling up on God’s lap of love and compassion and being comforted by the closeness of His heartbeat. Finding a peace and calm that is only found in His grasp.
He’s not sitting high up in the heavens removed from our experience of pain and desperate questions. No, He is always available and close to us especially when we suffer or the precious people He created in this world suffer. He stays with us and helps get us through. He helps us breathe again. To find hope in the darkness.
God understands our feelings and helps us bear whatever it is that is overwhelming us because He is our suffering Savior. He knows firsthand about brokenness. When He hung on the cross—the greatest brokenness of all time—it was all for us.
The things that break our hearts break His even more, and they have the potential to bring us closer to Him. But we need to remember: It is God who moves closer to us in our times of greatest brokenness—in fact, He comes down low. Even on days when I don’t feel Him, He is there—He’s always close—for one of His job descriptions is to be close to the brokenhearted.
God understands our feelings and helps us bear whatever it is that is overwhelming us because He is our suffering Savior. He knows firsthand about brokenness...He hung on the cross—the greatest brokenness of all time—for us.
I have heard it said “that some people can’t see God because they won’t look low enough, and it’s true. If you can’t feel His closeness, look lower and you will find Him.” But more importantly…He will find YOU!
Like you, my heart hurts today for all sorts of reasons. But I am encouraged that we have a God who finds us in our pain—especially when we are at our lowest. “The LORD IS CLOSE to the brokenhearted.”