Daily Manna · Day 149 · May 29
Near to the Broken
“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”
When you fall apart, people often back away. They are not being cruel. They simply run out of words, the messages thin out, and you learn to answer "fine" because it is easier on everyone.
God moves the other way, and this psalm is exact about it: "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart." "Nigh" means near, close at hand. The same Hebrew word is used for close family, as when Naomi says of Boaz, "The man is near of kin unto us." "Broken" is the word for shattered things, like broken bones or a broken clay pot. "Contrite" is stronger than sad; it means crushed. The psalm never asks what did the crushing. It draws no line between the sin you cannot undo and the loss you never chose. It only tells you where God is, and He is close to both.
So this verse is an open door, and you may walk through it. You can stop acting calm when you pray, even the calm of a neatly organised confession. And if you know somebody in a crushed season, the same door is open to you. You can be the one who does not back away. You will not need the right words. All you have to do is go, and stay, and let it be awkward, the way God stays close to you.
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 149 is Choked With Cares (Luke 8:14).