July 12: He saves the crushed in spirit

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit. Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.    (Psalm 34:17-20 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

This is who God is; this is how He has acted all through history. It doesn’t matter if we’re living in the 21st or the 1st century, or if we lived in 1000BC, like King David who wrote this psalm. He always hears when the righteous cry out, and always delivers them from all their troubles. When people humbly cry out to Him, when pride and rebelliousness are pushed to the side and a broken spirit and an obedient heart remain —God draws near to deliver and save.

Trouble is a part of life. Hardship, pain, setbacks, and disappointment are always present, or on their way. This world is under Satan's evil influence — the Bible even calls him the prince of this world. Except all who belong to God are promised the victory. Through the power of the Lord Jesus we overcome Satan, demons, trauma, and disaster. But our victory is not automatic, it comes when we go out on a ledge and live by faith. Fear, doubt, and worry give the devil permission to oppress us, whereas faith drives the devil away and authorizes God to step in and save us.

The author of this Psalm wrote from his own experience of many years. David had begun serving and trusting in God as a boy. As a young shepherd he had killed lions and bears that attacked his father’s sheep. In his early teens he killed a warrior-giant who was insulting and threatening God and His people, and eventually became the greatest king of Israel. But all through his life he faced danger and trouble, conflict and war, betrayal and suffering — and without fail God always gave him victory and deliverance. That’s why he can speak with such confidence and praise God so glowingly in this psalm.

I want you to determine that very soon you will have the ability to do the same thing — to speak glowingly and confidently about God, not because you read some stories about Him, but because you experienced Him firsthand.