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Psalms 34:15, 17-19 (NIV) The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

What it is speaking to me

No one gets through this life unscathed.

The Lord has been gracious to me in letting my sorrows grow up with me, and I hope he was to you as well.We remember the first real disappointment: the party canceled, the gift broken, the vacation unfulfilled.

The first unrequited love.

The first puppy love that ended.

The bully.

The embarrassing moment.

The shunning by people you thought were friends.

And that's just childhood, and a good one at that.

Then you get older.

It turns into new heartbreaks.

New broken friendships.

Serious disappointments, letdowns, and setbacks.

The betrayal of friends and even family.

Sharing in the pain and loss of loved ones around you.

The death of loved ones, expected and unexpected.

And many other things can leave the heart feeling battered and broken, the spirit crushed.

There are times when it feels like your heart is full of holes that won't close, despite your best efforts to smile through it, weep when no one is looking, and pray all the things you think you should.

No one gets through this life unscathed. But we never have to go through it alone.

In all these big and small terrible moments... He is CLOSE.

The Lord is close.

To those of you reading with a broken heart today, please hear me:

He is close.

The Heart-maker is close to the brokenhearted.

What are we going to do about it?

Cry out, and see: He is close.