WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR HEART IS BROKEN AND YOUR SPIRIT IS CRUSHED?

SCRIPTURE:
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted 
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  
(Psalm 34:18)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever felt you were so deep in a valley 
that you would never get out?
You felt like the spirit of your life had been sucked out of you 
and you were left feeling empty and possibly alone.

You were tired, weary and so brokenhearted 
that you lost your will to fight through it.
You might be going through one of those times right now.
It is a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

Famous singer B.J. Thomas had a song with this phrase in it,
“Down isn’t so bad, if it gets you to looking up”.
It makes a lot of sense doesn’t it?
When we are on the bottom, the only place we can look is up.
And that IS a good thing – it means we are looking to the Lord for help.

Sometimes we have to live through a valley of grief 
before we can climb the heights of spiritual glory.
There are times when we have to come to the end of “self” 
before we can begin to really live.
We have to realize that our own abilities, our own goodness,
and our own morality is insufficient in the sight of God.

During times like this, we need to remember that God 
is sufficient for what we need to rise out of the valley we are in.
This is why it is so important to spend time in the Bible every day.
The scriptures tell us that when we are at our lowest 
we are not alone – God is close to us.
We may not see Him or feel His presence, but He is there.
Why? Because He wants to rescue those who have had their spirit crushed.

Isn’t it great to know that we have a God 
who understands us when no one else does?
A God who can encourage us 
and give us directions for recovering from despair.

God can turn mourning into joy, sadness into happiness, 
and hopelessness into hope.
We worship and serve a God who loves us more than anyone else
and has more compassion than we could ever imagine.
Why wouldn’t we turn to Him when we are in the depths of distress? 

ACTION:
If you are not going through a valley of despair right now,
you may have one to go through in the future.
Be prepared now by reading God’s Word and developing 
a close fellowship with Him before you experience a difficult time.
When times are hard, you will immediately go to Him and His sufficiency.
You will find comfort in knowing the Lord is nearby.

“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your concern for me. There are times 
when nobody else understands me, but You do. There are some who 
want to tell me that You do not exist. Lord I know that You do exist 
and I ask You to help me establish a daily habit of spending time with 
You by praying and reading the Bible. Whenever my life is in despair, 
remind me that You are close and You care about my plight. Thank 
You for loving me at all times and for Your desire to rescue me from 
my damaged spirit. I cannot do anything of lasting value if I am apart 
from You. Help me to no longer depend on myself, but give the reins 
of my life to You.”