Crushed in Spirit

“‘Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians…? Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more…Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.’ So they put away the foreign gods and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure their misery.” Judges 10:11-14

I do not believe I have ever read this passage before where God was so angry that He told His children they had finally crossed the line. They were on their own no matter what they did or how much they petitioned Him to save them. He had been faithful to bring them out of their suffering and troubles every time before. He had taken them at their word that they would not forsake or reject Him if He would deliver them from their circumstances…and yet, they always did exactly that. They turned to things that continued to harm them which would never lead them out of their situation. But the final sentence is what made my eyes leak this morning and pulled at my heartstrings like never before. ‘And His soul could no longer endure their misery.’

There is a deep place in my heart that houses many circumstances of the 8 years of my daughter’s oppression. I don’t try to reach it because the reminders could open that well-guarded incision from yesteryear. We all have those situations that we are so thankful to be out of but certainly came at a cost. I, too, had reached my limit with my daughter after her many promises to me were broken. The heart can only sustain so much fracture before it shatters. But once she turned away from the darkness and reached out to me her words were different this time. After disbelieving her promise of walking away from that lifestyle, I saw her actions aligning with her promise. I dared to hope in another promise but my ‘soul could no longer endure the misery’ of life apart from her.

The fact that God would suffer alongside us…would actually feel the pain we are experiencing…would take a chance of us again...reminds me that we have a perfect parent in Him. In His anger, He will allow us to walk out fellowship without Him. But in His great love, He can’t help but to receive us again when our hearts turn to Him in remorse and devotion. Whatever god you or I may turn to, it will never heal…it will never restore…it will never deliver. I’m so thankful that we have a Father who has a soul that can never endure our misery when we include Him in our healing.

“The righteous cry, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:17-18