Wednesday, July 8 — God Is Near the Brokenhearted
f your heart is the broken one today, this is the page for you.
Psalm 34:10-22 — KJV
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. 11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Psalm 34:10-22 — WEB
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh. 12 Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies. 14 Depart from evil, and do good. Seek peace, and pursue it. 15 Yahweh's eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry. 16 Yahweh's face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all. 20 He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.
Explanation
We're still in Psalm 34, but the tone shifts. The first half was about seeking God in fear. The second half settles into something quieter and, for a lot of us, more personal: what God does with a broken heart.
"The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Read that slowly. The nearness of God isn't promised to the people who have it all together. It's promised to the broken ones. This runs against everything our culture trains into us. We assume we have to clean up before we come close — fix the marriage, get the habit under control, stop crying, pull it together. The psalm says the opposite. Brokenness isn't what keeps God at a distance. It's the very thing that draws him near.
The middle of the passage is practical wisdom — keep your tongue from evil, do good, seek peace and pursue it. This isn't God handing out chores. It's a father teaching his children how to live in a way that doesn't add new wounds to the old ones. "Come, ye children, hearken unto me." It's tender. And then the promise returns: "The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."
This is the middle of our week, and it's no accident that it sits here. We are walking toward Sunday's lesson about Peter, a man whose strength was forged through a heartbreak of his own making. Before Peter could be rebuilt, he had to be broken — and the good news of Wednesday is that the breaking is exactly where God shows up closest.
You may be reading this from the broken-hearted side of something right now. A loss you can't talk about at work. A relationship that didn't survive. A version of your life you grieved quietly while everyone assumed you were fine. The psalm doesn't rush you past it or tell you to count your blessings. It tells you the truth: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." The Bible never pretends faith makes the afflictions disappear. But then — "the LORD delivereth him out of them all." Not around. Out of. Through.
If your heart is the broken one today, you are not far from God. By the Bible's own math, you are nearer to him than you have ever been. He keeps the bones. He redeems the soul of his servants. And he is close — closer than your breath — to the heart that feels most shattered.
Thought for the Day
God draws closest to the heart that feels most broken.
Reflection Question
Where do you most need to feel God near this week?
Prayer
Father, you say you are near the brokenhearted, and today I'm taking you at your word. Meet me where I'm tender. Bind up what's been hurting in the quiet, and remind me that my brokenness draws you closer, not farther away. Thank you for keeping watch over my soul. Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: Simon Peter, From Weakness to Strength.