This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
There’s a difference between saying, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” and “The LORD is close . . . ”
The LORD, or the tetragrammaton, as it’s called, is the four-letter name for God in the Old Testament that he instructed Moses to tell the Israelites when they asked who sent him to deliver them from slavery in Egypt:
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3:13-15)
With that awesome name, God was reminding his people who he was, is, and always will be: the God who is faithful and just. The God who is merciful and loving. The God who forgives sin and remembers wickedness no more. The God who will wipe away every tear from the eyes of his children. The God who will always be with us and will never forsake us. The God who cannot lie. The God who keeps all of his promises. He always has, and he always will.
How do we know?
He sent his Son Jesus to live, die, and rise again for us, just as he promised. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus himself made it absolutely clear why he came to earth: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Take a look at Isaiah 61, which is what Jesus was referencing:
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Jesus came to bind up the brokenhearted, to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who grieve. If any of that describes you, Jesus is for you. He is for you and he is with you.
What Jesus has done, is doing, and promises he will do sustains and strengthens us through life in this sin-darkened world. We cling to the unbreakable promises he makes in his Word and know that he is faithful and true.
Dear Christian, this is the God who is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. He’s right here with you. Always.
Today as you pray, ask that God would comfort the brokenhearted and lift up all who suffer, pointing them to their Savior who suffered for them to rescue them from sin, death, and the devil. Ask that God would strengthen and sustain them through the promises he makes in his Word and comfort them with the knowledge that he is always with them.
Did you enjoy this post? Subscribe for free devotional content every week!
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
Leave a Reply