The Lord Is Close to the Brokenhearted

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome back to Beyond Sunday,and thanks for joining me for
day 12 of anchored in God'spromises.
Whether today finds youencouraged or hurting, hopeful
or uncertain, I want you to knowyou're not alone.
These moments we spend inscripture aren't just about
knowledge.
They're about anchoring oursouls and something strong,
steady, and true, and today'sverse speaks directly to those

(00:21):
places of deep pain and loss.
It's Psalm 34 18.
It's one of my favorite verses,says the Lord is close to the
brokenhearted and saves thosewho are crushed in spirit.
It's one thing to know that Godis everywhere, but this verse
tells us something more.
He's especially near to thosewhose hearts are breaking.

(00:41):
That means when you're grieving,anxious, rejected, or even
overwhelmed, you're notabandoned.
You're not overlooked.
In fact, that's when God leansin closer.
There's a tenderness in thisverse.
A God who doesn't just watch ourpain from afar but enters into
it with us.
He doesn't wait for us to pullit together before he shows up.

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He meets us in the heartbreak.
That kind of closeness is hardto describe, but for anyone who
has walked through the valley ofgrief or sorrow and still sensed
God's peace, you know what thisverse means?
This verse uses two strongimages.
First, brokenhearted when lifehas cracked, opened and spilled

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out.
Second crushed in spirit.
When your strength is gone andyour hope feels distant, maybe
you're there today.
Maybe life didn't go the way youhoped.
A relationship ended, a dreamdied.
The silence from God feelslouder than ever.
Let me say this gently, butclearly, God is not repelled by
your brokenness.

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He is drawn to it.
The world may tell you to smile,fake it and move on.
But God says, I see you.
I'm with you, and I haven't leftyou.
Now the second half of the versegives us the promise and saves
those who are crushed in spirit.
That word saves doesn't justmean rescue from sin.
It also means the liverpreserve, heal and defend.

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God saves the crushed not justby fixing the circumstances, but
often by sustaining us throughit.
He gives us strength to the weakpeace and the panic and hope in
the fog.
Sometimes his saving comesthrough a word in season.
A friend's unexpectedencouragement or the quiet
realization that you're stillstanding, still breathing, still

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trusting, even though youthought you couldn't.
That too is saving.
A man in our church once losthis wife unexpectedly, and in
the months that followed, hetold me, I didn't feel strong.
I just felt carried.
He couldn't explain it, butevery time he sat quietly with
God or whispered a prayer in thecar or opened the Psalms through

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his tears.
He felt a presence, not loud,not flashy, just near.
That's this verse in action.
God doesn't always rescue usfrom the pain, but he always
rescues us from being alone init.
If your heart is heavy today,here's the challenge.
Don't hide your pain.

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Don't minimize it.
Don't even numb it.
Bring it to the one who promisesto be close.
Write out a prayer, even if it'smessy, even if it's one
sentence, just say, God, here'smy heart.
It's broken, but I trust you'renear.
And if you're not brokenheartedtoday, ask God to show you
someone who is so you can betheir reminder that they're not

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forgotten.
Let's pray.
God, thank you for not turningaway when our hearts are
breaking.
Thank you for drawing near whenwe feel lost, wounded, or
crushed.
You're not just a God ofcelebration, but a God who sits
with us in sorrow.
Be near today.
Be real and be enough.
In Jesus' name, amen.

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Thanks for spending a fewmoments with me here on Beyond
Sunday.
If today's promise brought youcomfort, pass it on.
Just copy that verse and send itto someone.
Remind them that they are notalone.
Someone else may be waiting forthe reminder that God is close.
I'll meet you right back heretomorrow for day 13 of Anchored
in God's promises.