Turning the page…
Turning the page…
Glory · Grief & Loss
Near. Yahweh is near to the brokenhearted, the coming Servant carried sorrow Himself, and at a funeral procession in Nain Jesus felt compassion before He said a word. And when grief strips you of prayer entirely, the Spirit Himself intercedes with groanings too deep for language.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/where-is-god-when-i-grieve · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Psalms 34
As you read: David's own taste of deliverance, climaxing in the verse about the brokenhearted and the crushed in spirit.
1I will bless Yahweh at all times. His praise will always be in my mouth.
2My soul shall boast in Yahweh. The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.
3Oh magnify Yahweh with me. Let us exalt his name together.
4I sought Yahweh, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5They looked to him, and were radiant. Their faces shall never be covered with shame.
6This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7Yahweh’s angel encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him.
10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.
11Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
12Who is someone who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
13Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.
14Depart from evil, and do good. seek peace, and pursue it.
15Yahweh’s eyes are toward the righteous. His ears listen to their cry.
16Yahweh’s face is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth.
17The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
20He protects all of his bones. Not one of them is broken.
21Evil shall kill the wicked. Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.
Isaiah 53:1-6
As you read: Despised, rejected, and then the turn: what the Servant took that belonged to us.
1Who has believed our message? To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
2For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
4Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Luke 7:11-17
As you read: What Jesus feels first when He sees the widow, what He touches, and what He hands back to her.
11Soon afterwards, he went to a city called Nain. Many of his disciples, along with a great multitude, went with him.
12Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. Many people of the city were with her.
13When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.”
14He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
15He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.
16Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
17This report went out concerning him in the whole of Judea, and in all the surrounding region.
Psalm 34 does not promise the brokenhearted a quick fix; it promises company: 'Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.' Nearness comes first, rescue second, and the order matters. The first thing God gives a crushed person is Himself.
“Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.”Psalms 34:18
Isaiah saw it seven centuries out: despised, rejected, 'a man of suffering'. Then the turn: 'Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering'. Your grief is not foreign territory to your Savior; He carried sorrow long enough to know its weight by feel.
“He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him. Surely he has borne our sickness, and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.”Isaiah 53:3-4
At Nain, Jesus meets a widow burying her only son. Luke records what moved Him first: 'he had compassion on her'. Only then does He speak, touch the coffin, and hand the young man back to his mother alive. When you wonder where God is in grief, this scene answers: close enough to feel it first, acting even before you ask.
“When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, “Don’t cry.” He came near and touched the coffin, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!” He who was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother.”Luke 7:13-15
Mourning often makes prayer impossible; you sit silent because language is gone. Paul says the Spirit covers exactly this case: 'we don't know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can't be uttered.' Silence before God is not absence from God; the groaning itself is prayer.
“In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered.”Romans 8:26