Where He Draws Near

We tend to think God keeps his distance from us when we are at our lowest, as if failure were a smell that drives him off. So after a fall we pull back from prayer, figuring we should get ourselves presentable before we approach him again. David had a different picture entirely. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, he writes, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Not near to the impressive, not near to the ones who have it together, but near to the broken.

Think about what that means on the worst night. The very state you are in, ashamed, disgusted with yourself, spirit crushed under the weight of it, is the exact condition David says draws God close. Your brokenness is not a barrier that pushes him away. It is the doorway he comes through.

This flips the whole instinct to hide. You want to wait until you feel less wrecked before you talk to him, but he is already nearest when you are most wrecked. The moment you are tempted to believe he has left the room is often the moment he has pulled up a chair beside you.

Father, I feel crushed tonight and I almost stayed away from you because of it. Thank you that this is where you come close. Meet me here, in the honest mess, and hold me together.