“God invites us to be agents of healing and hope in a worn and weary world.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 16, 2022
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18, ESV
According to the Psalms, if you want to be close to God, stay close to those who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. Why? Because these are the ones he has promised to comfort with the gift of his presence.
It isn’t difficult to see causes and sources of heartbreak in our world today. We see it play out on the international stage as the world continues to wage war. We also know it at a national level as we live through the senseless killings of our most vulnerable citizens, grieving as innocent children are gunned down in our schools. And each of us has experienced broken hearts in deeply personal and intimate ways, through the loss of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the betrayal of trust.
In short, there isn’t a single one of us that will make it through this life without encountering the brokenness of our world in one way or another. Yet it is in these very moments that we can take comfort in the promises of God, believing that he draws near when we are at our lowest points, reminding us of who we are and to whom we belong.
As comforting as this is for us personally, I want to add one last dimension to this reflection. Might it be that one of the primary ways God draws near to the brokenhearted is through you and me? If we are made in his image and ones in whom the Spirit of God dwells, when we open our eyes to the suffering of others around us and move toward them in love, we are participating in the healing movement of love that God has designed and wills for his beloved creation.
Of course, we can ignore this invitation and choose to keep our heads down, refusing to see the pain and sorrow of others. This, in fact, is our default fallen state as human beings. We are naturally turned inward, concerned solely with our own needs, wants, and desires. And yet, as we learn to open our hearts and lives to the redemptive work of God, he begins to slowly but surely reorient our focus, drawing us out of ourselves and into the world around us, inviting us daily to be agents of healing and hope in a worn and weary world.
Prayer
Father, turn us outward toward the pain in our world, believing that you long to heal all that is sick and restore that which is broken, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Who do you know that is brokenhearted? How can you draw near to them today, and in so doing be for them a reminder and reality of God’s nearness in their life?
Related Reading
Psalm 16:8; Psalm 73:28; Psalm 145:18
Worship Resource
Jenn Johnson: Nearness
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