Psalm 34:18-22
(I see that the flow of thoughts could be divided into two parts.)
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Having a broken heart and a crushed spirit pretty much sums my life up right now.
"contrite"
Mr. McBride once defined it to be "in constant repentance."
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: In Holy Scripture, the heart is the seat of all feeling, whether joy or sorrow. A contrite heart is one in which the natural pride and self-sufficiency have been completely humbled by the consciousness of guilt.
That part of the definition I haven't found myself in.
I have been too prideful nowadays--way, way, too prideful.
All these things in my life at one point became so comfortable in a sense that it just started to breed pride.
He's breaking all of them down now... ALL of them!
My friends, my M1, my schoolwork, my dorm room--everything is falling apart, and I am deep down glad that they are.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted; how am I doing on the pride checks lately?
I need to remember who I am in Christ--simply a fallen, filthy, disgusting sinner whom He loved enough to touch and redeem.
Amazing.
What caught me was the the word "guard" is used. God never leaves--He never forsakes.
He's guarding--through my high and through my lows.
The thing is even when there isn't any trouble, He's there.
Even when there aren't storms and there aren't struggles, He's there, guarding, watching, protecting.
I lose sight of that sometimes... It sometimes seems as though Scripture offers much comfort to the lost, broken, and struggling; but in reality, it does so too for the victorious, thriving, and filled.
Another thing that caught me was that He says He guards the bones, right after He says the afflictions of the righteous are many.
(By the way, isn't it interesting that the word "afflictions" is used? There are beings going against the righteous--earthly or demonic. Afflictions are intentional and have to come from a source.)
He doesn't say He guards the body or the flesh. He guards the BONES.
Everything around me can fall apart--my feelings, my mind, my speech, my health. My emotions may rage, and I may cry myself to sleep every night.
But nothing--NOTHING--
can touch my bones, my structure, my foundation.
It's unshakable and protected; it's in the safest hands.
He'll let me go through all of this. He really will.
He'll put me through much crap from TA-ing and from being far from anything familiar; but He will hold my bones together. He will keep my core at peace. What's on the surface can fade away--my skin and flesh can rot away.
I only need to know that deep down inside of me, I have joy and safety.
I have nothing to fear in this life.
I really don't.
This morning's devotions have been both convicting and comforting.
From His love, I shall remember my nothingness with joy and appreciation.
From His love, I shall rise up to love and serve everyone around me.
From His love, I shall rest, knowing that nothing can shake what matters.
The second part then goes deeper.
It isn't about the earthly realm anymore--it isn't about horizontal relationships now.
He goes on to declare that His justice will come; His elect will prevail.
I'm not safe just temporarily here on earth; I'm safe eternally down to my soul.
It's almost as if He's saying, "Yes, I'll protect your bones. But hey, more than that, I'll protect your soul."
I stand in absolute amazement. I don't even know what to say anymore. Speechless--He has rendered me speechless.
I end with this.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Psalm 34:18-22;
★ry
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