Sunday Read: When Everything Falls Apart
You're barely holding it together. The crisis that seemed manageable has spiraled beyond your control. The relationship you thought was solid has fractured. The job you counted on has ended. The health you assumed was stable has failed. Everything you built carefully is collapsing simultaneously, and you can't stop it. You're falling apart.
David knew this feeling. Psalm 34 was written after he pretended to be insane to escape King Achish - one of his lowest moments. Yet in that psalm he wrote: "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). Notice where God is when everything falls apart: close. Not distant, not condemning, not abandoning - close to the brokenhearted, saving those whose spirits are crushed.
This contradicts what you feel when you're falling apart. You feel abandoned, alone, unseen. Where is God when you're drowning? Why doesn't he intervene? If he's close, why can't you sense him? The absence of feeling his presence doesn't mean he's absent. David didn't write that God feels close to the brokenhearted - he wrote that God is close. His presence doesn't depend on your ability to sense it.
God doesn't prevent all crises. He doesn't shield believers from loss, illness, betrayal, or failure. Christians experience the same catastrophes as everyone else - sometimes more, since following Jesus can create additional difficulties. Peter wrote: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you" (1 Peter 4:12). Trials aren't strange or unusual for Christians; they're expected.
But God promises presence in the crisis. Isaiah prophesied: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isaiah 43:2). Notice the pattern: when you pass through waters, when you pass through rivers, when you walk through fire. Not if but when. Trials are inevitable. But God is with you in them.
Jesus demonstrated this. He didn't calm every storm immediately. Sometimes he slept through storms while disciples panicked (Mark 4:38). Sometimes he let Lazarus die before raising him (John 11). Sometimes he allowed suffering to continue - his own, on the cross, and his followers' through persecution. But he never abandoned them in the suffering. Even on the cross, feeling forsaken, he was accomplishing redemption.
When everything falls apart, you have choices about how to respond. You can pretend you're fine when you're not - maintaining appearances while collapsing internally. You can numb yourself with distractions - keeping too busy to feel the pain. You can rage at God for allowing this. Or you can bring your broken heart to him honestly, admitting you're falling apart, and let him be close in the crisis.
The psalms model this honesty. They don't sugarcoat suffering or spiritualize pain away. They cry out: "How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:1). "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me?" (Psalm 22:1). These aren't faithless complaints; they're honest prayers from people who trusted God enough to tell him exactly how they felt.
God can handle your anger, your questions, your accusations. He'd rather have your honest rage than your pretended peace. When everything's falling apart, tell him. Don't perform spiritual maturity you don't feel. Don't fake faith that's crumbling. Bring your broken heart to the God who promises to be close to the brokenhearted. He won't reject you for falling apart; he'll save you in it.
This doesn't mean immediate relief. David was still brokenhearted when he wrote that God is close to the brokenhearted - the promise wasn't that God would immediately fix everything but that he'd be present in the midst of it. Rescue might come quickly or slowly. Circumstances might improve or worsen. But God's presence doesn't depend on circumstances improving. He's close whether things get better or not.
Practically, when you're falling apart, take the next small step rather than demanding to see the whole staircase. You can't fix everything simultaneously. You might not be able to fix anything. But you can take the next breath, the next hour, the next day. When you can't see how this will end, trust the God who can. When you can't sense his presence, remember his promise: he's close to the brokenhearted. You qualify.
Everything might still be falling apart tomorrow. The crisis might deepen. The loss might expand. But God will still be close. That's the promise - not that crises won't come, not that everything will be fixed quickly, but that you won't face them alone. The God who saves those crushed in spirit is near. Bring him your broken heart. Let him be close in the collapse.
