Our Refuge

‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’ (Psalm 34:18)

There is no better psalm to read than Psalm 34 when you feel in need of  God’s protection, when you feel helpless, or when you are suffering.  But for some reason, tonight verse 18 jumped out and grabbed me.  After reading it several times I found myself asking ‘why?’  “Why me?  Why now?”

I haven’t necessarily been feeling ‘crushed in spirit’ or ‘brokenhearted’ recently, although I do confess to feeling unusually troubled lately.  I’m still not exactly sure why but something in me resonated with how this verse described God’s care for the troubled.  There have certainly been times when I have been more troubled and burdened than I feel at this point in time.  Maybe that’s it.  Maybe the fact that I’m not in desperate straits makes God standing “close to the brokenhearted” more comforting somehow.  It certainly is reassuring to realize that God is my refuge, even when the storms of life aren’t level five hurricanes. God is my shelter no matter the climate I find ourselves in – whether as balmy as spring or as bitter as winter.

The more we go to the refuge God provides during peaceful times, the more familiar we will be with the path when we need to get to His refuge when the winds are blowing and the storms are furiously bearing down on us.

It is a great encouragement to know that when my heart is broken, when my spirit is crushed, God is there assuring that the hurt and pain are not fatal. Depression and discouragement will come, but they do not have to last. 

 ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’

I have a refuge, a shelter, a God who is close and whose joy is to restore me.  You have a refuge, a shelter, a God who is close and whose joy is to restore you.  We all have a refuge, a shelter, a God who is close and whose joy is to restore us!