Lord, You are close to the brokenhearted.

Here is a poem offering comfort and presence, woven with the scripture that promises He is near to those who are hurting.

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When the world has lost its song, And the night feels terribly long, When a fracture rends the soul, And grief has taken all control, When the heart lies in a thousand pieces, And all the hoping,all the ceasing— It is in this shattered place I’m told, A story of a love more bold.

Not a distant, far-off king, But a tender,present thing. For“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted”— The words are life to the departed, A gentle hand upon the pain, A shelter in the driving rain. “He saves those who are crushed in spirit,” For those who feel they cannot bear it.

You do not shy from our deep ache, The lonely tremors that we make. You count the tears,You hear the sigh, You draw the anguish from our cry. You are the mender of the tear, The dissipator of the fear.

So I will bring this broken shard, This weary,wounded, broken heart. I will not hide my pain or loss, Beneath some superficial gloss. For in the breaking,I am found On holy,consecrated ground.

For where the heart is torn apart, There,too, is God’s own healing heart. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” In this darkest of nights,His light is cocooned.

You are close. Oh, Lord, so near. To hold the broken,calm the fear. This broken heart is not alone, For You have made its pain Your own.