The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him. // Psalm 34:18
When my husband and I traveled to the Holy Land a few years ago, one of the most profound places we visited was the Sacred Pit. I had never heard of this place before our trip because not much is said about it in the Bible.
This pit is where Jesus was taken after the Last Supper with His disciples. Before he was taken to Pontius Pilate, Jesus spent the night at the home of Caiaphas in a deep hole below the house. It was so deep Jesus needed to be lowered into it. He was brought up from it the next morning to face His suffering and death.
I thought of this pit several months after our return. I was going through something really sad in our family, watching a loved one suffer and unable to help. I was brokenhearted.
In my tears, crying out to God for a miracle, the Sacred Pit came into my mind. In this moment of great sadness, of being in a pit all alone, I felt a sense of Jesus being lowered down there with me. He was beside me, in this time of trouble and suffering.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. Jesus bore our suffering; He was lowered into a pit as part of the path to resurrection. He wants us to remember that whatever difficult thing we are going through right now, He went before us and will deliver us.
Lord, You deliver us from our troubles. Bring us peace when we suffer and help us to feel Your loving presence walking beside us on our path.
He went before us and will deliver us. // Rachel Balducci Click to tweet
Rachel Balducci is a writer and speaker and co-host of the Gist on CatholicTV. She has a Masters degree from the Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia and teaches at Augusta University and is working on her doctorate in Religion at the University of Georgia. She and her husband Paul have five sons and one daughter and are part of an intentional Christian community in Augusta, Georgia. Find out more about her here.
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