The LORD  is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. —Ps 34:18

Click Here to Read Today's Scripture: Psalm 34

One of our daughters gave my wife a porcelain hand with a heart in its center.  One day, one of our grandsons was admiring it when it slipped from his hands and the heart broke. I gathered the pieces and glued them together again, repairing the damage the best I could.  

As I looked at the damaged heart, I saw a clear illustration of life with its tragedies, hardships, and disappointments that break our hearts. But as I worked to repair it, I also thought about how God takes the brokenness of our lives and, as only He can by His love, restores us to wholeness. After the repairs, I could see the cracks, and a chip was still visible, much like scars on our skin after a cut has healed. Those scars remind us that we were once injured but have now healed.  

Although we can be healed from our various broken issues, these “cracks” serve to remind us of the events in life that have broken our hearts, some brought about by our own actions, and some brought about by the actions of others.   

Today we still have the porcelain hand on the shelf, and it’s a reminder that we are loved and are in His hand, whole and healed in spite of difficult times we have lived and grown through. 

Psalm 34:18 says, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” By our submission to God’s love and grace, we can find wholeness and healing. Yes, from time to time there may be lingering signs of the repairs made, but these can serve to remind us of His great love and care in bringing us back into the center of His hand of love.

Reflect: Are you broken in certain areas?  Have you asked Jesus to mend those broken parts of your heart? 

Prayer Starter:

Thank you, Father, for being so faithful and generous to me.  Please continue to empower me as I learn to let you spread into more and more parts of my life.

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