March 11th

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

This is one of my favorite passages that peels back the heart of God for us to see. It reveals God’s deep and tender mercy towards those who are crushed by sin and fear. It is easy to believe that there is no hope left when our circumstances totally crush our hope, our plans and our future.

Salvation, or being saved, is a description of an active verb that is occurring in us even today as we daily choose to walk with God in repentance and obedience. Salvation is a lifelong journey, not just a onetime event. God gently restores the crushed in spirit by frequent applications of His mercy and insight for healing presented in love to the wounded soul. As our soul is healed, we are enabled to accept more of His wisdom towards living a healthy life again. He is beautifully and wonderfully consistent in moving us towards His loving heart.

His Son Jesus personally experienced the emotion of being rejected and crushed by the people that were closest to Him. The sin that Jesus bore was so profound that even Father God turned away from Him. Because of Jesus, we have God’s promise that He will never leave or forsake us. Isn’t that a wonderful and reassuring promise?