The Nearness of God

The Nearness of our Father in Brokenness

A Meditation on Psalm 34:18

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

When Words Fall Short

There are moments in life when words are not enough. When the pain is too deep to explain.
And yet, in those very moments, a voice of hope echoes through the ages.
Psalm 34:18 carries a promise  not of quick healing, but of God's nearness.

This promise is precious to us.
Not as a religious phrase, but as a living witness to who our God is: near, redeemer of the broken, helper of the crushed.

A Story of Comfort: Charles Spurgeon

Consider the life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers" and a Baptist pastor in the 19th century.
Many know his powerful sermons and deep theology, but fewer know about the depth of his personal suffering.

Spurgeon struggled with chronic depression. In a time when mental illness was rarely acknowledged, he spoke openly about his sadness, loneliness, and despair.
In 1856, during a sermon at the Music Hall, panic broke out in the crowd. Several people died.
Spurgeon was devastated. He later wrote that he had:

"sunk into a pit, darker than the night itself."

And it was there, in the darkness, that he discovered the truth of Psalm 34:18. He wrote:

"I have learned to know God better in the valley of sorrow than on the sunny mountain tops of joy."

This is not cheap comfort.
This is the testimony of a man who did not run from pain, but met God in the heart of his brokenness.

The Holy Spirit: Comforter Within

I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in us, the power of God. 
Not only to empower us for service, but to comfort us in our deepest pain.

In a world that tries to cover pain with shallow distractions, Psalm 34 reminds us of something greater:
God draws near when we are at our lowest.

He is not a distant observer of our sorrow.
Not far away on an untouched throne, but leaning down into our brokenness, like a Father holding His hurting child.

A Community of Comfort

Let us be a community where those with deep sorrow are gently embraced in silence.
Where this psalm becomes a bridge to healing.
Where suffering becomes a place of encounter with the living God.

Final Thought

Psalm 34:18 does not promise that we will avoid suffering.
It promises we will never face it alone.

"The Lord is close."
Not only in Sunday's joy,
but in Monday's brokenness.
In the lonely night,
in the whispered prayer,
in the trembling voice of a child.

May this psalm comfort us, inspire us,
and move us to be comforters and carriers of God's nearness,
just as He is near to us.

Amen.