Friday, July 24, 2026From the news

Near to the Brokenhearted

When faced with inexplicable suffering, we can find comfort not in easy answers, but in the nearness of a God who is close to the brokenhearted.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 (ESV)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Romans 8:26 (ESV)

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23 (ESV)

My heart aches this morning reading the news from Ladera Ranch, a community in Southern California where at least six children have been diagnosed with an exceptionally rare cancer. As a parent, as a neighbor, as a human being, it is hard to process this kind of news. We hear the voice of a father, Brian Dalton, who lost his own daughter and pleads, “I don’t want another mother holding her child’s hand through endless treatments, praying for one more birthday, planning a funeral instead of a future.” His words voice a grief that is almost too heavy to bear. In the face of such tragedy, surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what can we possibly say?

Sometimes, the most profound truth is the simplest. When our hearts are shattered and our spirits feel utterly crushed by the weight of this broken world, Scripture does not offer us a simple formula or a tidy explanation. Instead, it offers us a Person. It offers us God Himself. The psalmist writes, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Take a moment and let those words sink in. God does not stand at a distance, observing our pain. He draws near. In the sterile hospital room, in the late-night hours of worry, in the silence that follows a devastating loss, He is present. His nearness is His answer when all other answers fail.

In these moments, prayer itself can feel impossible. What words are adequate? How can we articulate the groaning of our souls? The Apostle Paul gives us a beautiful and tender assurance: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” When you have no words, when your heart can only cry out in anguish, take comfort in this: the Holy Spirit is translating your pain into a perfect prayer. He is interceding for you, for the families in Ladera Ranch, for every parent holding a sick child’s hand, with a depth and understanding that we ourselves do not possess.

This is not a call to ignore the pain, but to find an anchor within it. The prophet Jeremiah, writing in the midst of the total devastation of his nation, did just that. He looked at the ruin around him and then, by a sheer act of faith, he chose what to remember. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Hope, for the believer, is not a feeling based on our circumstances. It is a confidence based on the character of God. His love is steadfast. His mercies are new, even on the hardest of mornings. His faithfulness is great, even when our faith is small. Let us hold onto this truth today, for ourselves and for those who are suffering so deeply they cannot hold on for themselves.