I saw a meme on Facebook that resonated with my soul. “How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great.”
It also made me think about my mentor Pastor Jim. He had a medic’s heart. He used to say that he wasn’t interested in leading a mighty congregation first through the gates of glory. He was interested in being the last one through, gathering up all the wounded and broken along the way.
I think he instilled that passion in me. I feel far more comfortable with the brokenhearted than I do with the mighty. I feel closer to the LORD with my arms around the shattered and grieving.
I think Psalm 34:18 explains why that is. “The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.” [HCSB]
When we gather near the brokenhearted, we gather near the LORD who is near to them. We gather near the One who saves those crushed in spirit.
Most of us at some point in life will experience brokenness. Something in life, a loss, a struggle, an illness, will crush us. It is during those times that we need others to come alongside us. It is during those times that we will find the LORD is very near to us. We just need to reach out to Him.
