“I just might bend but I won’t break, as long as I can see your face.”- Mercy Me, Move
Helpless. Fearful. Ashamed. Brokenhearted. Crushed in spirit.
David, in Psalm 34, expresses raw pain. Even though he was a king he was not isolated from agony. In his pain, he teaches me a truth that anchors my soul.
For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!
I will face troubles, calamity even. But I will remain. I will not be broken. A bruised reed he will not break (Is. 42:3). That is a promise, a promise God intends on keeping every time for every one.
But, I feel like I would be failing you if I didn’t point out the whole truth in this. While God promises that forever protection, that protection is reserved for the righteous. Is that you? Does God look at you and call you righteous?
In your time of struggle do you find yourself drawn closer to God or repelled from him? Do you dig your heals in the ground and commit to serving him or do you waver in your devotion? Do you lay every burden at his feet or do you turn to drugs, food, or sex to numb your pain? Do you allow yourself to be vulnerable and pliable or do you selfishly wall yourself off from others? Do your lips praise God or do they curse him or question him?
How you endure your suffering speaks to your righteousness. Your righteousness directly affects how God responds to you?
If you find your cries for help seem to be falling on def ears. Maybe they are.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. (Ps. 34:15-16)
If you find yourself drowning underneath the weight of your trials unable to breathe, or if you continue to strive to climb out but you are just stuck spinning your wheels, consider this:
Calamity will surely overtake the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. (Ps. 34:21)
If there is anything between you and God get rid of it. If there is any sin that is keeping you from being called righteous, cut it out of your life. If you aren’t sure if you are in sin read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Galatians 5:16-26, and Romans 6:1-4. God tells us the things that keep us from a relationship with him. If there are any obstacles that keep you from intimate fellowship with him, destroy them.
Then, you can stand in the middle of your storm, knowing that you might bend, you may hurt, you may writhe in agony, but you will not break. You will be rescued. You will be redeemed. And that’s a promise.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. (Ps. 34:22)
(Read the previous titles in the series How To Survive the Death of a Child and How to Survive the Death of a Child: Part 2)
