{"id":3164,"date":"2016-11-04T08:03:55","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T12:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?p=3164"},"modified":"2016-11-02T09:55:58","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T13:55:58","slug":"counseling-through-psalm-3418","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/","title":{"rendered":"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18"},"content":{"rendered":"

Psalm 34:18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The <\/strong>Lord<\/strong> is near to the brokenhearted<\/strong><\/p>\n

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author and biblical counselor Dr. Robert Kellemen wrote, \u201cWe live in a fallen world and it often falls on us. When it does, when the weight of the world crushes us, squeezes the life out of us, we need hope.\u201d[1]<\/a> Each of us have countless experiences of this fallen world falling on us. Some may be as small as an ill-timed flat tire, a stomach bug ruining a holiday weekend or a constantly critical co-worker.\u00a0 Other circumstances are much heavier and leave us crushed and broken, unsure of how to go on. As Dr. Kellemen wrote, we are in need of hope.<\/p>\n

This verse offers two reasons to take hope in time of trial and tragedy. First, we are promised that Our Heavenly Father \u201cis near to the brokenhearted<\/strong>.\u201d When our fallen world falls on us, it often leaves us feeling very alone.\u00a0 In times of intense hurt and pain, it is easy to feel like no one else sees, knows or understands what you are facing and how you are hurting.\u00a0 Even the most supportive of family and friends cannot be there with you 24\/7\/365.\u00a0 The pain is then compounded by the sense of aloneness that comes with it.\u00a0 God speaks in those moments that He is near the brokenhearted. He sees, He knows, He cares, He does not forget and He is near.\u00a0 What comfort and hope knowing that our Heavenly Father is near to us in our brokenness.\u00a0 He does not leave us alone, He is not unaware or carefree about our hurt. While other people may not draw near, or may not understand, or may not even know about our broken hearts, God is unique, set apart compassionate in His loving care. He is near and He tells us so that we can find hope in Him.<\/p>\n

Second, this verse promises that God \u201csaves those who are crushed in spirit<\/strong>.\u201d God may save us by comforting us in all our troubles (2 Corinthians 1:4), by delivering us from the peril we face (2 Corinthians 1:10), by inwardly renewing us and reminding us of eternity to come (2 Corinthians 4:16), or by making His sufficient grace and power perfect in us as we\u00a0 continue in the trial (2 Corinthians 12:9). Regardless of how God specifically acts to save us, we are assured that even in great affliction, his mercies to us are new every morning and his faithfulness is great (Lamentations 3:19-23).\u00a0 Ultimately, we know that God will save His people in the new heaven and new earth when \u201cHe will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away\u201d <\/strong>(Revelation 21:4).<\/p>\n

When this fallen world falls on us, we have hope that God is near and He saves. He truly is the God of all comfort.<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Kellemen, Robert W. God\u2019s Healing for Life\u2019s Losses<\/em>, 4. Winona Lake, Ind.:BMH Books, 2010. We read through this book at VOH as part of our morning class curriculum and would recommend it as a biblically based book on handling loss and walking through grief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Psalm 34:18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Author and biblical counselor Dr. Robert Kellemen wrote, \u201cWe live in a fallen world and it often falls on us. When it does, when the weight of the world crushes us, squeezes the life out of us, we… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":3166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[244,98,65,21],"yoast_head":"\nCounseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Psalm 34:18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Author and biblical counselor Dr. Robert Kellemen wrote, \u201cWe live in a fallen world and it often falls on us. When it does, when the weight of the world crushes us, squeezes the life out of us, we... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vision of Hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-04T12:03:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-02T13:55:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20170523134143\/pexels-photo-66757.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jennifer Cantu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jennifer Cantu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/\",\"name\":\"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-04T12:03:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-02T13:55:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/\",\"name\":\"Vision of Hope\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3\",\"name\":\"Jennifer Cantu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png\",\"caption\":\"Jennifer Cantu\"},\"description\":\"Jennifer Cantu works as a counselor and Shift Supervisor at Vision of Hope. She received her biblical counseling certification from ACBC in 2014. In addition to working at VOH, Jennifer counsels women through Faith Church\u2019s counseling ministry. She is very thankful for ministry opportunities to help, teach and encourage women with God's Word.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/author\/jfaulkner\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope","og_description":"Psalm 34:18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit. Author and biblical counselor Dr. Robert Kellemen wrote, \u201cWe live in a fallen world and it often falls on us. When it does, when the weight of the world crushes us, squeezes the life out of us, we... read more","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/","og_site_name":"Vision of Hope","article_published_time":"2016-11-04T12:03:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-11-02T13:55:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20170523134143\/pexels-photo-66757.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jennifer Cantu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jennifer Cantu","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/","name":"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18 - Vision of Hope","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-11-04T12:03:55+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-02T13:55:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/2016\/11\/04\/counseling-through-psalm-3418\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Counseling Through Psalm 34:18"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/","name":"Vision of Hope","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/01789f04764d746b139a3bf4c173ece3","name":"Jennifer Cantu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/20180131155052\/avatar1517431850.png","caption":"Jennifer Cantu"},"description":"Jennifer Cantu works as a counselor and Shift Supervisor at Vision of Hope. She received her biblical counseling certification from ACBC in 2014. In addition to working at VOH, Jennifer counsels women through Faith Church\u2019s counseling ministry. She is very thankful for ministry opportunities to help, teach and encourage women with God's Word.","url":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/author\/jfaulkner\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3164"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3169,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164\/revisions\/3169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/voh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}