“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
The Refining
This verse does not promise nearness to the composed, the put-together, or the spiritually impressive. It promises nearness specifically to the brokenhearted, as if brokenness is not a barrier to his presence but somehow the very condition it draws close to. God is not waiting for you to recover before he comes near. He comes near in the breaking itself.
This runs against a quiet assumption many carry, that God’s presence has to be earned back after a collapse, that you need to get yourself steady again before you are fit company for him. This verse says the opposite. Nigh, meaning close, immediate, present tense, to the broken heart exactly as it is right now, mid-break, unrepaired.
This is different from removing the brokenness. The verse does not promise the heartbreak will vanish on contact with his nearness. It promises his nearness in the middle of it, which is its own kind of rescue, distinct from and often preceding the rescue from the circumstance itself.
If your heart is broken today, this is not a season to distance yourself from God until you feel more presentable. This is exactly the condition his nearness is promised to.
In the Fire
- Name the specific way your heart is broken right now, without softening it.
- Reject the instinct to distance yourself from God until you feel more presentable.
- Ask for the felt reality of his nearness today, in the brokenness itself.
Prayer
Lord, I have thought I needed to be steady before I could come near you. Thank you for a promise that says the opposite. Be near me now, exactly as broken as I am. Amen.
Carry this today
Brokenness is not a barrier to his nearness. It is where his nearness meets me.