Psalms 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
It is easy to be overwhelmed by anxiety, worry, stress,and fear, and to feel weighed down by discouragement and depression. But there is a way out, a light at the end of the tunnel. The answer is Jesus. God doesn’t want us to live with all of that. He wants to heal and restore us (Mark 2:17, Jeremiah 30:17). And no amount of pain and suffering is too great for His mighty hand to heal. The question is are we ready to receive the comfort, healing, and restoration that He has to offer?
It is not just the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit that the Lord is close to. He is also close to the anxious and weary worry warts, ready to give peace and comfort to them, too. We have learned previously about God being with us, loving us beyond measure. We have the promise of God with us. And now we see that He is with us no matter the state of our mind. We aren’t too broken to be around, too anxiety ridden to provide comfort to, too crushed and weighed down to lift up. He loves us and will restore us regardless because nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35, 38-39).
We sometimes forget that Jesus was fully human when He walked the earth. He experienced all of the emotions we go through. He faced the anxiety we experience (though I never sweat blood due to my anxiety, regardless of how bad it may seem at times) and he knew firsthand the heartache of loss (he wept for Lazarus’s death and the grief of his sisters). We know that nothing is too big for Him to hold for us. We can give Him those burdens, those weary thoughts and feelings, the heavy emotions that pull us down into the depths of despair, and we can rest assured He can carry them for us. He can relieve us of the emotions and can provide us with peace and comfort.
Unfortunately, we tend to like wallowing in our problems. We may say we don’t, but we like people comforting us or consoling us. Personally, I despise my anxiety. If I could get rid of it fully I would. But for some reason I have a tendency to take things back after giving them to Him to carry. I lay them at the foot of the cross and in no time I am picking them back up again and suffering once more. I lay them down over and over, but still struggle. Some days are better than others, some burdens I do lay down and leave fully. It is an ongoing process, though. We can’t expect our tendencies to be fixed overnight. It takes time. But we have the assurance that He sympathizes with us (Hebrews 4:15) and is near to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit.
Draw near to the throne of grace today, and receive mercy and find grace to help you in YOUR time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
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