May 21 - Psalm 34:18

The Lord is near to the

broken-hearted and saves

the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

I’m writing this a few days in advance of our Deeper Life Conference. But remembering last year’s conference, I’m anticipating God drawing near to broken-hearted.

I’m anticipating … a measure of healing … an assurance of forgiveness … an outpouring of hope … a lifting of the weights that crush our spirits.

And this is supposed to be normal. As our verse today assures us, this is who God is. This is how God acts. This is how God wants our daily relationship to be.

Part of the Deeper Life Conference is bringing someone inspirational in to remind us of this fact.  

But it doesn’t take a big conference or motivational preacher to have the Lord draw “near.” What it takes is …

• getting rid of some of the noise
• cutting out some of the busyness and distraction
• submitting our will to his will to be done
• confessing, honestly confessing, our sins
• wanting a change
• forgiving the other people who are causing us stress
• disciplining yourself to read scripture
• taking time to pray and pray and listen and pray

Wait, none of those are easy. And yet it’s the way that life was designed to be lived.

What’s causing you to be crushed? What’s the lever you need to use to lift that weight?

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who sees it mostly

but knows the last few levers