A salve for suffering

The LORD is near to those who are discouraged;
he saves those who have lost all hope.
Good people suffer many troubles,
but the LORD saves them from them all;
the LORD preserves them completely;
not one of their bones is broken. (verses 18-20)

Read Psalm 34:15-22

I was at a conference dinner one night where there was fine food and wine. The affluent, middle-class guests were having a noisy good time. However, when I struck up a conversation with one of the waitresses, it emerged that she was anxious and miserable. At home her husband was caring for their sick child, and she couldn’t wait to get back to them.

The stories about Jesus in the gospels show him as a person who was always seeking out people like that waitress. He had a special heart for those who were poor, diseased, bereaved or suffering. He would bypass the successful, popular and well heeled in order to help or heal the needy.

In today’s reading we read David’s words in praise of a loving God who has great sympathy for the crushed and broken-hearted. We see here a continuing theme that runs through the ages. When you and I find ourselves hurting and out on the fringes, the assurance of these words is a salve for our suffering too.

Dear God, thank you for your help and concern for those who suffer. Thank you for always being there for me too whenever the bad times come. Amen.

by Richard Hauser, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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