Not A Bone Broken – Psalm 34

A text – Psalm 34:15-22

34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.

34:16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

34:17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and rescues them from all their troubles.

34:18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all.

34:20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.

34:21 Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

34:22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

A reflection:

This week’s texts and reflections have taken us to big ideas:

The gospel tells us if we trust God, if we believe in Jesus, we have eternal life right now and forevermore.

The letter to the Ephesians tells us if we are being assailed, we have very strong armor to protect us and bring us through the bad times.

This psalm passage lets us know that no one who calls on the name of the Lord, who trusts the Lord to protect and defend him/her will be condemned. Not one bone will be broken.

This is a week to have been thinking about how we need to throw all reservation and caution to the wind and just believe in God whole-heartedly.  God will give us protective armor and rescue us. These passages do not say we shall never be attacked. They say we will be rescued and redeemed.

Jesus himself knew of the faithful love of God that went with him through every challenge and hardship in his earthly life. Though we may go through times when it may seem that God has forsaken us, God is always by our side, saving us whenever we turn to trust in God. So many times Jesus leaves his disciples and goes away to pray, to throw himself into God’s embrace. So many times Jesus doesn’t quite answer the direct question but instead praises God and thanks God for being faithful and bountiful. We can learn well from this behavior – thank God unceasingly. It will remind us of the source of every blessing and pull us close to our benefactor and redeemer.

This week, or whenever we feel challenged or frightened, we should thank God for being such a loving parent and faithful promise-keeper, and then we will be pulled ever closer to God, rescued, uncrushed, without a single bone broken.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for rescuing, protecting, and redeeming us, even when we have strayed. Help us to remember to thank you, to come close to you, to allow ourselves to be rescued. Keep us in this right relationship with you, so that we may live with you forever. Amen.