"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."
Ps. 34:18
It occurs to me that those moments when we grieve the most are propitious moments, because in those times of pain, God in His great care moves toward us in ways most personal and intimate. So there is in our grief great opportunity to experience the Lord in ways we cannot in times of earthly comfort. We have only to look to Him and pour out the contents of our broken hearts, and He will fly to our aid.
The previous verse says:
"The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles."
Though He wound us, yet He as quickly comforts, like a father who lovingly disciplines his child. Hebrews 12:10 says that "he disciplines us" with this in mind, "that we may share his [very] holiness".
In earlier times, after being disciplined by the schoolmaster, children were required to "kiss the rod" in order, through discipline, to learn appreciation for even the harsher aspects of instruction. Though outward conformity does not guarantee inward submission, the hope was that wills would be broken and hearts surrendered.
Moving toward the comfort of an afflicting heavenly Father might be something like that - an act of faith which brings the reward of greater intimacy with the One who only desires our very best.
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."
Ps. 34:18
It occurs to me that those moments when we grieve the most are propitious moments, because in those times of pain, God in His great care moves toward us in ways most personal and intimate. So there is in our grief great opportunity to experience the Lord in ways we cannot in times of earthly comfort. We have only to look to Him and pour out the contents of our broken hearts, and He will fly to our aid.
The previous verse says:
"The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles."
Though He wound us, yet He as quickly comforts, like a father who lovingly disciplines his child. Hebrews 12:10 says that "he disciplines us" with this in mind, "that we may share his [very] holiness".
In earlier times, after being disciplined by the schoolmaster, children were required to "kiss the rod" in order, through discipline, to learn appreciation for even the harsher aspects of instruction. Though outward conformity does not guarantee inward submission, the hope was that wills would be broken and hearts surrendered.
Moving toward the comfort of an afflicting heavenly Father might be something like that - an act of faith which brings the reward of greater intimacy with the One who only desires our very best.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I welcome your comments!