Psalm 34:15-22 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 34:15-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
Verse 16The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Verse 17When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.
Verse 18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
Verse 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
Verse 20He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
Verse 21Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
Verse 22The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Devotion
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
After a number of floods in our Fargo neighborhood, I saw my neighbors' faces as they walked away from their ruined homes for the last time. Their faces told the story of their crushed spirits.
We have seen those faces in others walking away from war or natural disasters. Their very faces cry to God for help, and God hears them. If God's eyes and ears are open to their cries, can ours be open as well? Can we read the newspaper with the eyes and ears of God, not blinded by compassion fatigue but really seeing their faces? Opening our eyes and ears to see and hear them is the first step to be the hands of God in comforting them.
Prayer
Lord, give us your eyes and ears to see the faces and hear the cries of your people. Then open our hands to uphold the crushed in spirit. Amen.