Psalm 34:17-18

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:17-18 RSV).

Comment:

This passage, from a psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance from personal troubles, is reminiscent, I think, of the beatitudes with which Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. We cannot move forward on our spiritual paths unless we are discontented with where we are. It's always about stepping outside our comfort zone, trusting in the Lord to improve our situation. If we don't realize that the 'comfort zone' of limitation and lack that we are experiencing is crushing our spirit, blocking our heart awareness from expressing through us into the world, then we aren't yet ready to surrender to the Christ of our being and move forward.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed