he rescues those whose spirits are crushed."
(Psalm 34: 18)
The famous musical group, The Bee Gees, had a popular song in the sixties entitled, "How can you mend a broken heart." Their song lamented the pain and heartaches people suffer as the result of broken relationships. The haunting question being sung was how do you mend the broken heart? How do you move on when you are in so much pain?
There is a short, little, two-line word of encouragement and comfort found in the Bible. In the book of Psalms, which is literally, songs of praise and lament composed by David, the once famous King of Israel, there is a tiny little statement of hope:
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He rescue those whose spirits are crushed."
I talk to my Iranian friends almost everyday, chatting with them online. Recently they have admitted to me that they have been suffering from depression and sorrow over broken relationships. My one friend, whose name I won't mention, lamented that she was tired of being tired and was thinking about committing suicide. Some of my other friends complain about feeling hopeless and tired of the oppression by the government. My heart goes out to each one of them. What kind of hope can I offer them?
I believe part of the answer is in this tiny, but powerful, little Psalm. David writes, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted." God is not some distant, faraway deity. He is a God who is intimately concerned with the hurts and feelings of His people. This psalm encourages us that that He is near, that He is close. I can almost picture our God with His arms wide open waiting for us to run into them for comfort and healing. But Wait, God is not only close to the brokenhearted but the psalm says he does something else. "He rescues those whose spirits are crushed."
God provides comfort and healing to our wounded hearts. How? He does it by loving us unconditionally. He rescues, that is, brings healing and deliverance to us. As a Christian, I can identify with this. Jesus showed compassion to the hurting and helpless. He healed the sick and lame and gave hope to the hurting and broken.
Ultimately, Jesus allowed his heart to be pierced so that our hearts could be healed.
The Bee gees sang the question, "How can you mend a broken heart?" What then, is the answer? The answer is, trust in a God who intimately cares for us and had his heart broken so ours could be mended and healed once again.
