the Third Week after Easter
Daily Devotionals
John Gossner's Treasury
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing, The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalms 34:10; Psalms 34:18.
Those who are spiritually rich, full of proud imaginings concerning themselves, are very needy and poor. They suffer want in the spirit of their mind; they are without any living knowledge of the Lord, without His love, even though they may be able to speak much about it. They, however, who feel themselves poor, wretched and in want, who consequently seek nothing in themselves, but all in the Lord, who only seek the Lord, who collect their mind and wait for Him and for His gifts, are ever filled, comforted, enlightened and made happy. They cannot suffer want, because they have Jesus. How does one have Him? How does one get Him? A broken heart and a contrite spirit have Him constantly, as often as they desire. A proud spirit, a puffed-up mind, a satisfied, distracted and thoughtless heart, drives Him farther and farther away, or withdraws from Him. Do you wish to find Jesus? Would you like to have Him ever near you?
Well, then go in the way in which He meets the hearts. Prepare for Him that inn into which He readily enters and remains "a contrite spirit," a "broken heart. " But how can I ever be thus contrite and broken? He whose heart is not broken as often as he draws near to God has yet never seen the true appearance of his heart in the mirror of truth. It is an easy matter to cause the heart to be "broken" and the spirit to be "contrite. " You need only see your true spiritual condition in the light of God’s word, and the heart becomes "broken. " This attracts Christ more than all preparations, services, and spiritual exercises. How? All the world knows or may know, where and how Christ is to be found. Yet they are few who possess Him, yea, even few so called awakened and pious hearts. If we were forced to seek Him far away we would at least have some excuse; but we may have Him in our hearts. O how close! even in a "broken" heart, not in a richly gifted, but in a "contrite" spirit. And yet! and yet! how far art Thou, Lord Jesus, from the hearts!
In scenes exalted or depressed,
Be Thou our joy, and Thou our rest;
Thy goodness all our hopes shall raise.
Adored through all our changing days.
