March 16

The LORD is Close

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

Over and over again in scripture we see this same message, that those who have had their hearts broken, those who have been crushed, find a very special relationship with God. There is a closenss, a trust that is developed that changes a person from within. When we are self-sufficient, the man of our own ship, there is no need for God. We feel we can do things on our own, the power to succeed lies within us. The Lord has taught us that is rubbish, but it has only been through the breaking process that we have found that we need God more than words could say. It is when our own self-will has been crushed that we seek the spirit of the Lord for guidance. When the Lord has broken that hard outer shell that surrounds our hearts, the shell of self, it is only then that the tender heart that God placed there is exposed. Then the relationship of love and honor for a Father who is our all, can grow and take shape. Indeed, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, for He is the one doing the breaking. He breaks us that he might use us. It is an act of love. An act of love with we will never regret.

The Father’s Loving Hand

Father, how can my feeble words express,
The feelings I once had of sorrow and hopelessness.
Selfishness reigned within,
My life was so very full of sin.

And yet you looked down at me with a father’s love,
Your loving hands reaching down from above.
And you broke my heart, a pain too great to bear alone,
My whole being ached to the core, to the very bone.

I cried to you in my despair and then I found.
Again with loving hands you reaching down.
And you drew me lovingly to your breast,
You healed my heart with your loving caress.

Father, I am in such awe when I see
The magnitude of your love and grace toward me.
You forgave my sins and replaced them with grace,
How I now long to see your face.

And I shall never forget, how with love and with care,
You reached down and broke me and then helped me to bear,
Your love and grace reached into my heart,
Changing me forever, and from you I will never again part.

— Donna Mathewson