Closer through Pain

by Lis Burns

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

Living in Florida, you quickly learn about the realities of hurricanes. 

• Reality 1: If a hurricane is approaching, people will panic-buy water. Shelves will be empty of all forms of water (except, oddly for Dasani?) and water will become as sought after as a Tickle-Me Elmo on Black Friday.
• Reality 2: Hurricanes never pick a convenient time to come. I can’t even begin to list the number of times that a storm ruined plans, church services, or vacations. The storm doesn’t care; it’s just going to come when it wants to.
• Reality 3: The center of the storm, or the eye, is actually calm. The eye has the lowest barometric pressure and winds of less than 15 miles per hour. While around the eye, a storm of devastating impact can be raging; the center is calm.

David writes in Psalm 34:18 that God is close to the brokenhearted. Why is that? It would feel as if the opposite might be more true. In hard times, it certainly doesn’t seem from the outside like God is close.

If He was close, wouldn’t I feel better? Wouldn’t things look better?

The truth of this verse is very much like the eye of a hurricane. In something hard and scary (circumstance or storm), staying centered is key to safety.

When we are hurt, we cry out to God, and He draws us closer to Him. Near God is the perfect place to be. Near Him, we feel His presence, which soothes us and gives us peace, even if the circumstances haven’t changed. 

One important thing to note is that while the center of a hurricane is calm, that is a very small area, and right on the outskirts of it is destruction and devastation. It would be foolish for someone to be inside the eye of a storm and assume everywhere else is equally peaceful.

The same can be true in our hard times. Circumstances will try to destroy us and demolish our peace. It is very important for us to stay close to God so that He can keep us in His protection. 

Maybe today you are feeling brokenhearted. It’s time to allow God to draw us close. In some of the hardest times of my life, I have felt God closest.

It started, though, by allowing Him to comfort me. He can give us peace that defies our hardship and circumstances if we’ll stay close to Him and let Him be God.

Prayer

God, in my heartache, I turn to You. Draw me closer to You, even in my brokenness. Thank you for loving me steadily even when the whole world seems to be anything but stable. Thank you for being my peace in the hardest moments. I will stay close to you so that no matter what I face, you always remain my reality of peace. Amen.