Grateful for this short reflection from Paul Walker:
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
Abraham Lincoln was famously gangly and ungainly, but once he started speaking, he won people over. One observer wrote, “His face lighted up as with an inward fire; the whole man was transfigured. I forgot his clothes, his personal appearance, and his individual peculiarities. Presently, forgetting myself, I was on my feet like the rest, yelling [and] cheering for this wonderful man.”
I suspect that Lincoln’s genius, oratorical and otherwise, was at least in part inspired by the depression from which he suffered as well as the faith in God which sustained him. I love this quote: “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”
Being driven to your knees is always, in every single instance, a good thing. The drumbeat of my insufficiency — and that of others — thrums through the ages, as does God’s sufficiency for us — perfect and unending.
O Lord our God, accept our prayers; in the multitude of your mercies, look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help; for you are gracious, O lover of souls, and to you we give glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
