Some More Encouragement...

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
Psalm 34:18

My mom gave me a daily devotional calendar for Christmas. It sits here next to my computer and it's pretty much the first thing I read as I began my day. It's a good way to focus the mind as I began my day. Anyway...there has been a theme lately, which coincides with the focus of my last post. Things happen all of the time that we don't understand or that don't make sense. That's the thing though...it's not about us. Let me share what two of these devotionals have said:
From Sunday...

God uses problems to draw you closer to himself. The bible says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18).
Your most profound and intimate experiences of worship will likely be in your darkest days - when your heart is broken, when you feel abandoned, when you're out of options, when the pain is great - and you turn to God alone.

This serves as a great reminder. Too often we get in the way of connecting with God...it's not necessarily circumstances or people, but us. Sometimes we let things around us dictate our feelings toward God...where he is working...we may not see it presently.

This brokenness thing is something that I never fully grasped until about two years ago. I nearly lost my mother, then I lost my older brother to suicide. This was really tough because I didn't see it coming...didn't see any warning signs or red flags. I was actually getting pretty excited because my last few conversations with my brother dealt with spiritual things. He was always searching. Our last conversation was about the title of a book in my personal library. It's hard for me to type about his even now...two years later.

The state of brokenness created through the near loss of my mother the previous summer, then the subsequent loss of my brother in February 2006...cemented my belief that God is there...loving, caring, working despite bad things. It was an intense time in my life. I almost felt guilty because I had distanced myself from my family for reasons I may discuss later.

The point of this is to provide encouragement...some of you reading this post need it. Going back to my past weekend and Caedmon's Call...they have a song called "There is a Reason." It pretty much lines up with what this post is about. God works in everything. Listen to this second excerpt from my calendar:
Wednesday...

Because God's sovereignty is in control, accidents are just incidents in God's good plan for you. Because every day of your life was written on God's calendar before you were born, everything that happens to you has spiritual significance, Everything!

I'm going to end with the lyrics to this song...once again I couldn't say it any better so I'll let other people say it.

There is a Reason
Words and Music by Andrew Osenga and Randall Goodgame

late at night I wonder why
sometimes I wonder why
sometimes I’m so tired
I don’t even try
seems everything around me fails
but I hold on to the promise
that there is a reason

late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
the history of the saints who’ve gone in front of me
through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
cause there is a reason
there is a reason

he makes all things good
he makes all things good
there’s a time to live and a time to die
a time for wonder and to wonder why
cause there is a reason
there is a reason

I believe in a God who sent His only son
to walk upon this world and give His life for us
with blood and tears on a long, dark night
we know that He believed
that there is a reason
there is a reason

for the lonely nights
and broken hearts
the widow's mite
in the rich man's hand
and the continent
whose blood becomes a traitor

for the child afraid to close their eyes
the prayers that seem unanswered
there is a reason
there is a reason