Psalm 34:15-18
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,
to remove all memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.
There’s something humbling about talking publicly about a verse that has met you in your most tender places. Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted” was the focus of my very first panel, and I walked away realizing how much more there was still to say. The questions we discussed opened the door to stories, healing, and reminders of God’s nearness in pain. This blog post is my way of continuing that conversation and sharing what God placed on my heart.
- Why do you think some women choose to hide pain/sin/brokenness from others?
- Once I was a new believer, full of excitement and wonder. Church seemed like such a wonderful community. A community were people were perfect and had it all together (especially the women). Coming from a family that struggled and had skeletons, I didn't think that I fit in with them. I felt like I had to hide. I believe most women feel this way especially when trying something new. It's easy to hide from others but once you learn that we are all in the crazy boat together, you find strength in your weakness (an can begin boasting about them).
- What helps you get closer to Jesus during difficult seasons?
- In difficult seasons, I find it hard to do anything, much less open my Bible. It times like this I give myself grace and simplify my process. This is something I struggle with now but I'm learning, as a busy mom, that it is okay to have imperfect faith. What does this look like? Well... instead of hour long Bible studies/quiet time, i'm now listening to the Bible on my way to work or while cleaning the house. Even if I forget most of what I heard, I'm still getting the word of God in my ears (plus we live in the 21st century... I can just rewind). Look at Psalm 34:10. The Lord wants us to SEEK him, and seeking is an active and imperfect action. It is attempting to find something. We will lose it. But the joy and peace is found in making the effort.
- What lies have you told yourself during times of pain and what did you learn from that experience?
- I often tell myself that "I don't matter," or "no one cares about me." These lies begun brewing after I had my son and we moved. Although we didn't move far, I lost many friends and felt more isolated than ever. I remember attending an event and seeing some good friends. I was so excited and thought I would be met with warm greetings and loving small talk but I was forgotten. They made plans without me because they thought I was too much of a tired mom. This sucked. But, what I learned is that I have a deeply rooted issue of needing to be... needed/loved. I need to work on being content if God was the only one to see me, love me, and understand me.
- Why do you think God chooses closeness in times of hurting instead of correction or distance?
- GOD IS RELATIONAL. We see this in Genesis 3:8-11, when Adam and Eve sin and God returns to the garden. Instead of skipping straight to their punishment, God drew near and sought to hear from them first. He asks "Where are YOU?" and "Who told you, you were naked?" You are crazy if you think God didn't already know where they were and what had happened. He wanted to be near them and hear from them. A good friend (also on the panel) brought up that you can't successfully/meaningfully correct someone unless you build a relationship with them. That is so true! We tend to take criticism and correct much better when it comes from someone who we know loves and cares for us. The same applies to our relationship to God. He corrects like a father.
- In the text it says “he brings his presence to those humble enough to need him” Have you experienced a time when you had to humble yourself to the Lord? How did that impact your faith walk?
- 100% YES. I experienced this the most in the beginning phase of my mom's walk with the Lord. Many years I thought I had to be the one, that I had to be eloquent and know the Bible front, back and center. It wasn't until I gave up, that the Lord really started to move. I had to surrender and admit that I am not the savior. Again, there is strength in boasting in your weakness!
Be blessed xx
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