“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18(ESV)
He burst through the door with her in his arms. The
look on his face alerted me that something was very wrong.
Moments before, my daughter had been riding her
bike alongside her older brothers on a beautiful spring day. She hit a bump and
lost control, sending her face-first over the handlebars. Her jaw hit the
pavement, and her cry followed the impact — a cry that initiated her daddy’s
response.
My husband, Luke, rushed to our little girl’s side
and without hesitation scooped her up in his arms. He carried her into the
house and started tending to her wounds. Later, X-rays and CT scans revealed
she had broken her jaw in three places.
As we attempted to sleep that night, my husband and
I made a bed of blankets and pillows in our room so our daughter could be near
us as she slept. One small whimper from our sleeping girl moved her daddy out
of the bed so he could once again scoop her up in his arms.
I’m not sure how much Luke slept that night, but
our daughter slept soundly in her father’s arms. She didn’t wriggle out of his
embrace or run to her own room. She was where she belonged — close to her
daddy, resting in the security and peace of his arms.
One definition of “belonging” is “the feeling of
security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and
identity for a member of a certain group.” When we belong, we’re right where
we’re supposed to be.
Today’s key verse shows us the ultimate source of
belonging in the midst of our brokenness: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm
34:18).
In our pain, our loving heavenly Father runs to us,
is near to us, and comforts us with His presence and the peace only He can
provide. In our pain, we belong close to our Savior. It’s the best place for us
to be.
My daughter’s response to her father’s care didn't
surprise me and probably doesn’t surprise you either: We recognize the blessing
of a loving father who ran to his child and comforted her. We would expect her
to receive that gift gladly and rest in it.
But when circumstances shatter our lives, instead
of allowing God to come close and put our broken pieces back together, I think
we sometimes pull away. Instead of allowing God to care for our wounds, we
cover them and recoil. After all, wounds hurt, and we fear that exposing them
will only hurt more.
But as with an untreated physical wound, untreated
heart wounds grow more and more tender. Though covered up, the wounds get
worse, and if they’re not treated, infection will spread and create even more
hurt.
The first step to belonging is to bring our
brokenness to Jesus. Instead of tirelessly trying to fix things ourselves, we
can let Jesus put the broken pieces of our hearts back together.
God doesn’t want us to spend our lives endlessly
trying to keep it together. He wants to heal us, fill us, and lead us to the
rest found in His arms when we belong to Him.