DEVOTION – DAY 570

Psalm 34:17-18 “The Broken-Hearted”

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 broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

These verses give the assurance that the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous. It provides comfort that the Lord will deliver His people from their troubles. The “broken-hearted” is a recurring theme in the Bible. It refers to the fact that what pleases God more than sacrifices is a humble heart that looks to Him when troubles crush them, and when they repent and pleads for mercy for the sins they have committed – they will have the assurance that the Lord hears their cries.

This was what we shared with someone recently. He told us he was a Buddhist. As a Buddhist, he has to earn merits by doing good deeds. This is so that he can gain merits and better “karma” if not in this life, in the next life when he is reincarnated. We asked him how much merit he must gain before he has the assurance that he has gained enough merit and good karma to ensure a better reincarnation. He admitted that he has no idea. He also had to agree that the motivation for him to do good deeds were indirectly self-centered because he wanted to gain merits for himself.

We told him that this was in stark contrast to what God tells us in the Bible. God, the Almighty Creator tells us that all our good deeds and good works are useless to gain His favor because they are tainted by selfish motives and personal agendas. Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to atone for all our sins. If we admit that we are sinners and accept and believe that Jesus did that for us, God will accept us as His children forever. 

Our admission and acceptance that we are sinners in need of our Savior is what it means to be “broken-hearted”. It is when we have a contrite and broken heart, God will hear our cries and come to our rescue. This is a far greater assurance of acceptance by God, then any promises that Buddha can give. We are praying that this man will accept this truth and one day open his heart to receive Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and nor rely upon his own good deeds as the way to God and heaven.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love, assurances, and mercy when we come before you with a contrite and broken heart. Thank you for forgiving us when we sin before you. Please help us to fully repent and flee from sin. We humbly pray in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Are you troubled with a particular sin? Have you turned to the Lord in repentance and seek His forgiveness? True repentance means to never engage in that particular sin again. Will you do that?
  2. Why does God delight in those who have a humble and contrite heart? Discuss.
  3. When did you open your heart to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and confess that you were a sinner in need of your Savior? Share. If you have not yet done so, why not? What is preventing you from doing so?