Brokenhearted: When God Draws Near

Reading of the Word

Psalm 34:15–18 NASB 2020

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears are toward their cry for help. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, To eliminate the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Prayer of Illumination

Lord, You are near to the brokenhearted and attentive to every cry. As we open Your Word today, open our hearts to Your presence. Let Your truth bring comfort where there is pain, light where there is confusion, and hope where there is despair. Speak through Your Word, Lord, so that we may not just hear about Your nearness — but feel it in the depths of our spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

🌅 Intro: When Life Breaks You Down

Have you ever had a moment when life just broke you? When the weight of it all felt too heavy to carry — when the smile you put on every morning started to crack?

We live in a world that tells us to “stay strong,” “push through,” “fake it till you make it.” But pretending doesn’t heal a broken heart. And silence doesn’t fix what’s falling apart inside.

You ever have one of those days when everything feels heavy — and then your phone buzzes? It’s a text from a friend that simply says, “Hey, I was thinking about you,” or “Praying for you today.” It doesn’t solve everything, but somehow it lifts something inside you. It reminds you that you’re seen. That someone cares.

That’s what God’s presence is like. He knows when your heart starts to sink. And in that very moment, He draws near — not with a shout, but with a whisper to your spirit: “I’m here. I see you. I haven’t left you.”

Psalm 34 reminds us that God never asked us to pretend we’re okay — He invites us to be honest. David wrote these words not from a palace but from a cave — running, hurting, hiding. Yet he says,

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

That’s the truth I want you to hold onto today: When you’re at your lowest, God is at His closest. He sees you. He hears you. He draws near to you. And He offers real hope that heals.

1️⃣ God Sees and Hears Our Pain

📖 “The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.” (Psalm 34:15)

Depression and sadness can make us feel unseen and unheard — like NF said, “Sometimes I wanna disappear like I just don’t exist.”

The psalmist writes from deep personal experience. David had faced trouble after trouble — fear, betrayal, loss, and heartbreak. Yet in every valley, he points us back to God — the One who never stops loving, never stops listening, and never stops helping. In the middle of life’s worst moments, David discovered what we can too: that everything we truly need is found in the God who walks with us through it all.

Solomon prayed the same truth when he dedicated the Temple:

2 Chronicles 6:40 NASB 2020

“Now, my God, please, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.

Psalm 33:18 NASB 2020

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who wait for His faithfulness,

His listening to us assures us that God hears and responds to the cries of His people.

Even Jesus wept. Even Charles Spurgeon preached through decades of depression and tears. Their stories remind us that being faithful doesn’t mean being fearless — it means trusting that we are seen and heard even in the valley.

Key Truth: You may feel invisible, but heaven is watching and listening.

💡 God sees every tear as a prayer and hears every sigh as a cry for help.

2️⃣ God Draws Near to the Brokenhearted

📖 “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18

David isn’t writing theory — he’s writing from experience.

He had faced fear, betrayal, guilt, and grief. Yet in every valley, he discovered this truth: when life breaks you down, God draws you close.

Psalm 34:17 NASB 2020

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears And rescues them from all their troubles.

Psalm 34:19 NASB 2020

The afflictions of the righteous are many, But the Lord rescues him from them all.

God never promised life without trouble — He promised His presence through it. The Lord doesn’t wait for the storm to pass; He steps right into it with you.

God Is Near

When David was hiding in caves, when guilt crushed him, when friends turned away — the Lord was near. And that same God still draws near to you.

But to experience His closeness, we must drop the mask and be honest. We can’t heal what we hide.

Psalm 32:3 NASB 2020

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

God doesn’t shout from heaven — He whispers to the hurting. Even when He feels far, He’s actually closest.

Isaiah 57:15 NASB 2020

For this is what the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.

Your brokenness doesn’t push Him away — it pulls Him in.

God Saves

The verse doesn’t stop with “The Lord is near.” It continues, “and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” God doesn’t just comfort — He rescues.

Elijah learned that when he collapsed under the broom tree. God didn’t scold him; He strengthened him. And Jesus, in Gethsemane, felt crushed in spirit too — yet the Father was near.

The same God who met Elijah in the wilderness and Jesus in the garden will meet you right where you are.

Key Truth: God’s love isn’t based on how you feel. His nearness is constant, and His power still saves.

💡 When life grows darkest, His light draws nearest.

3️⃣ God Offers Hope That Heals

📖 “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17)

God doesn’t promise the absence of trouble — He promises His presence through it.

There’s tension in that verse — “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”

It doesn’t say life will be easy when you follow Jesus. It says many afflictions — meaning, when you start living for God, expect resistance. Trouble doesn’t vanish; sometimes it multiplies.

But here’s the hope — there’s a “but.” “But the Lord delivers.”

God doesn’t promise to keep you out of the fire — He promises to walk with you through it. Sometimes He changes the situation, and sometimes He changes you.

Either way, His deliverance is real. He’s faithful. He won’t leave you in the pit — He’ll meet you in it.

Because the same God who delivers from trouble is the same God who delivers through trouble.

Depression is not fixed by quick quotes or clichés, but by learning to rest in God’s love.

A Personal Moment

I’ll never forget the night I finally stopped pretending. Sitting in a quiet church, exhausted, I admitted it — I wasn’t okay. I’d been trying to fix myself, to keep moving, to stay strong. But inside, I was breaking.

Then my mentor sat beside me, tears in his eyes, and said, “I’ve been there too.” He told me about the pit he had been in — the hopelessness, the heaviness — and then he opened his Bible to the Psalms. He said, “This is where I found my voice again.”

So I began reading them. Not just reading — soaking. At first, nothing changed. But little by little, those ancient words started breathing life into me. I found my pain echoed in David’s cries. My fear mirrored in his prayers. And I found hope rising in the same place I had only known despair.

Psalm 40 became my lifeline:

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

That’s exactly what God did. He met me in that pit — not after I climbed out, but while I was still there. And He lifted me.

What I learned is this: When you can’t fix yourself, God still can. When you can’t climb out, He reaches down. When you feel completely alone, He’s already sitting beside you in the dark.

So if you find yourself there — discouraged, isolated, unsure — don’t give up. Open the Psalms. Let God’s words wash over your soul. The same God who met David, and met me, is ready to meet you too.

Encourage the congregation: we can turn to God honestly, bring our lament, and let His Spirit bring healing.

Psalm 147:3 NASB 2020

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Quoting Tremper Longman: “God helps those who are psychologically and emotionally vulnerable.”

Key Truth: Hope isn’t found in denying pain, but in discovering God’s presence in the middle of it.

💡 God may not remove the storm, but He will never leave you in it alone.

Takeaway for the Week: In times of depression and sadness, God is near, bringing us love and grace.

Conclusion

You may feel like David — crushed, weary, wondering if anyone sees you. But God does. His eyes are on you. His ears are open. His heart is near.

He never promised an easy road — He promised His presence. He may not take away every storm, but He’ll never leave you in it alone. And He won’t wait until you’re strong — He’ll meet you right where you are, and start lifting you, one breath, one prayer, one step at a time.

Because the same God who lifted David, and who lifted me, will lift you too. And one day, when you look back, you’ll see it — God’s quiet vindication. Not prideful proof, but gentle evidence that your faith wasn’t wasted, your tears weren’t unseen, and your pain wasn’t pointless.

Even when your heart breaks, it breaks in the hands of a God who heals. And in His time, you’ll see — trusting Him was worth it.

🕯️ Closing Challenge

Depression and sadness do not mean defeat — they can be the very space where grace takes root.

Encourage listeners to pray for someone struggling, check in on them, or reach out for help themselves.

🙏 Prayer Following Sermon

Lord, You see every heart here — every burden, every tear, every unspoken pain. Thank You that You are near to the brokenhearted and that You save those who are crushed in spirit.

When life feels heavy and the darkness closes in, remind us that we are not alone. You see us, You hear us, and You’re already working to lift us up.

Bring comfort where there’s sorrow, strength where there’s weakness, and hope where there’s despair. Help us trust that even when we can’t see the way forward, Your hands are still holding us together.

And one day, Lord, let us look back and see how You turned our pain into purpose — how You proved our faith was not in vain.

Even when our hearts break, they break in Your healing hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Charge

Friends, as you leave this place, remember the promise of Psalm 34: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Don’t hide your hurt — bring it into His presence. And let His comfort become your calling to comfort others.

Benediction

May the peace of Christ guard your heart. May the Spirit of God breathe hope into your soul. And may the love of the Father surround you, so that even in your brokenness, you know — you are never alone. Go in His grace and in His nearness. Amen.