{"id":7901,"date":"2024-02-09T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T08:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=7901"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:48:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T19:48:47","slug":"psalm-3418-the-lord-is-near-to-those-who-have-a-broken-heart-and-saves-such-as-have-a-contrite-spirit-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/?p=7901","title":{"rendered":"Psalm 34:18: &#8220;The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, \/ And saves such as have a contrite spirit.&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We believe that God is drawn to the brokenhearted because they have learned the difference between what is genuine and what is counterfeit. It is sometimes amazing just how efficiently a broken heart can push aside the unimportant and concentrate on the critical. For example, the wife in the surgical waiting room isn&#8217;t focusing on her husband\u2019s annoying habits. She doesn\u2019t care about the fact that he snores at night or that he won\u2019t wear the right colored socks she wants him to. She isn&#8217;t concerned about the fact that he is forgetful. All she really cares about, all she is praying is &#8220;Please Lord, get him through the surgery; let the operation be a success.&#8221; As she weeps in her broken-heartedness, what is really important comes into focus.<\/p>\n<p>This application points us to one of the painful ways God develops us into authentic believers. When we allow God to break our hearts, He is then able to show us what\u2019s really important in life. God is close at hand to the brokenhearted because they have discovered what\u2019s really important in life. He will then use us because we have become better sharpened instruments of healing in His hands.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Use us this day, LORD, to be Your hands and feet in the lives of others.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>=============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Psalms 34 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>&nbsp;I will bless the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;at all times: his praise&nbsp;<em>shall<\/em>continually&nbsp;<em>be&nbsp;<\/em>in my mouth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>&nbsp;My soul shall make her boast in the&nbsp;LORD: the humble shall hear&nbsp;<em>thereof&nbsp;<\/em>, and be glad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>&nbsp;O magnify the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;with me, and let us exalt his name together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>4<\/sup>&nbsp;I sought the&nbsp;LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>&nbsp;They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>6<\/sup>&nbsp;This poor man cried, and the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;heard&nbsp;<em>him&nbsp;<\/em>, and saved him out of all his troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>7<\/sup>&nbsp;The angel of the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>8<\/sup>&nbsp;O taste and see that the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;<\/em>good: blessed&nbsp;<em>is<\/em>the man&nbsp;<em>that&nbsp;<\/em>trusteth in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>9<\/sup>&nbsp;O fear the&nbsp;LORD, ye his saints: for&nbsp;<em>there is&nbsp;<\/em>no want to them that fear him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>10<\/sup>\u00a0The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the\u00a0LORD\u00a0shall not want any good\u00a0<em>thing\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>11<\/sup>&nbsp;Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the&nbsp;LORD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>12<\/sup>&nbsp;What man&nbsp;<em>is he that&nbsp;<\/em>desireth life,&nbsp;<em>and&nbsp;<\/em>loveth&nbsp;<em>many<\/em>days, that he may see good?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>13<\/sup>\u00a0Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>14<\/sup>&nbsp;Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>15<\/sup>&nbsp;The eyes of the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;<em>are&nbsp;<\/em>upon the righteous, and his ears&nbsp;<em>are open&nbsp;<\/em>unto their cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>16<\/sup>&nbsp;The face of the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;<\/em>against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>17<\/sup>\u00a0<em>The righteous\u00a0<\/em>cry, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>18<\/sup>&nbsp;The&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;<\/em>nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>19<\/sup>&nbsp;Many&nbsp;<em>are&nbsp;<\/em>the afflictions of the righteous: but the&nbsp;LORD&nbsp;delivereth him out of them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>20<\/sup>&nbsp;He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>21<\/sup>&nbsp;Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>22<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0LORD\u00a0redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We believe that God is drawn to the brokenhearted because they have learned the difference between what is genuine and what is counterfeit. It is sometimes amazing just how efficiently a broken heart can push aside the unimportant and concentrate on the critical. For example, the wife in the surgical waiting room isn&#8217;t focusing on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7901"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16527,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7901\/revisions\/16527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}