Dreaming in Reverse

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

There are few phrases that impact me the way ‘crushed in spirit’ does. Sharon Gearen describes our spirit as our inner light, our power source…that which connects to God, to ourselves, and all those around us. She offered an image of a crushed spirit that really resonates with me this morning. She wrote that a crushed spirit is like a hammer coming down on a rose. While the carnage of the rose lays in fragments, the crushing of it actually releases an aroma touching all in its presence. The perfume of the rose transcends the crushing and moves beyond the pain to heal. The petals have been damaged but the vine remains strong.

Death of a loved one is one of the most crushing events that we experience. We all have been there if we have walked on this earth for any length of time and we will experience it again. Grief is the price we pay for love. ‘When you are grieving over someone or something that was taken away, you wish you could go back in time…Grieving is dreaming in reverse…Healing feels impossible, because circumstances feel unchangeable.’ Seeing Beautiful Again, Lysa TerKeurst, p. 159.

In today’s verse, God does not say He comforts those who are crushed in spirit although He does. He offers more than just comfort…He offers rescue and a life redeemed in spite of our grief. He fully understands the pain you are going through and His will is not for you to remain crushed and broken. Like the rose, beauty can still transcend the pain and frame a new birth of something up ahead. We can praise God that He won’t leave us in our pain and that He alone has the power and healing to turn our face to the future. We can agree that some things on this side of Heaven might never be understood. Lysa writes that ‘Knowing why something happened will never help if we wouldn’t agree with the answer anyhow.’ She encourages us to invite God in to the unknown gaps of our lives.

God honors our reversed dreams because they helped write our story, but He has future dreams for our lives to finish out our story.