Crushed in Spirit

Psalm 34:17,18 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (NRSV)

The word “crushed” is an evocative word. We’ve all seen things that have been crushed. A car after a bad accident. Gravel crushed out of larger stones. It takes a powerful force to crush something. And sadly, sometimes a force like that can crush our spirit. Crushed.

Have you ever had your spirit completely crushed? Rejection will do that to you. Failure will do that to you. A world that doesn’t play by the rules, a world that isn’t fair, will do that to you. And when your spirit is crushed, it feels like the end of the road. It feels like there’s no place to go after this.

I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that there are many – way too many today – with a crushed spirit. And specifically for you today, I have this Word from God:

Psalm 34:17,18 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (NRSV)

No one else can restore you, save you, give you a hope for the future. No one else can breathe life into you at this point. Only God.

And this is not some God who operates at a safe distance from you. This is a God who hears you when you cry for help, who rescues you from your troubles. This is the God who draws near to the broken-hearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

So much so that He sent Jesus His Son to become one of us, Jesus His Son to bind up the broken-hearted, and the Holy Spirit to dwell inside us – to heal us, to comfort us, to empower us.

Be encouraged. Our God is with you. He’s with you every hour of the day, every step of the way.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.