“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.” ~Psalm 34:17-18

“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.” ~Psalm 34:17-18

I love love love this verse. To me, it shows how much tenderness the Lord has for us. Softness in the closeness and power in the saving.

‘Brokenhearted’ and 'crushed in spirit' describe a soul at their lowest point. If you look up the original Hebrew for these words, there is a sense of being ground into powder, torn into pieces. It takes us to Gethsemane, where Jesus anguished, “I am at the point of death” and then onto the cross, where He was “pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities”~Isaiah 53:5 and in Hebrews 4:15 “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because He was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin!”

In other words, Jesus empathizes with every thing we go through, every bump and bruise in our journey through life. He is with us when we are shattered. He experiences our triumphs. He rejoices and weeps with us. He is King of the Universe Who loves us, Who knows every thought before it’s formed, Who longs for our happiness. Who died for us.

“For this is the word of Him who is high and lifted up, Whose resting-place is eternal, Whose name is Holy: My resting-place is in the high and holy place, and with him who is crushed and poor in spirit, to give life to the spirit of the poor, and to make strong the heart of the crushed.” ~Isaiah 57:15

I pray that we all feel this to our core and let that light shine!

Written by Bonnie Chovanec, 2026