Psalm 146:8 — The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly.
Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like to be alive when Jesus walked the earth.
Can you imagine?
Actually seeing Him.
Hearing His voice.
Watching Him stop for someone everybody else had overlooked.
Seeing the compassion in His eyes as He reached out to someone who was hurting.
Wouldn’t that have been incredible?
But then I remember something.
Jesus hasn’t stopped reaching people.
And our friend Jacob knows something about that.
Jacob shared a story with us about one of the darkest nights of his life.
He had reached a place where the pain felt unbearable.
He was overwhelmed, exhausted, and convinced that his life didn’t matter anymore.
In fact, he had been thinking about ending it.
And that night, he found himself sitting alone in his car, wondering if anybody would even notice if he was gone.
Can you imagine feeling that forgotten?
That hopeless?
That alone?
The radio was playing in the background, but Jacob wasn’t really listening.
His mind was somewhere else.
Until suddenly, a song caught his attention.
It was Zach Williams singing “Fear Is a Liar.”
And something about those words broke through the darkness.
Jacob told us it felt like Jesus had climbed right into that car and sat down beside him.
That’s how he described it.
He couldn’t explain it any better than that.
He just knew that in a moment when he’d felt completely alone, he was being reminded that he wasn’t forgotten.
And the tears came.
He cried harder than he could remember crying.
But that night, instead of following through with what he’d been considering, Jacob made the decision to keep living.
And when he told us about it later, he said something I’ll never forget.
“That night didn’t end the way I planned. Thank God!”
Oh, friend.
Think about that.
A man who had reached a place where he couldn’t see a reason to keep going heard something that helped him hold on.
And it happened through a song playing on the radio.
Now, I don’t believe one song magically fixes everything someone is going through.
Pain that deep deserves compassion, support, and people who will walk alongside us as we heal.
But I do believe God can use a song, a Scripture, a conversation, or an unexpected moment of kindness to remind someone that their story isn’t over.
And that’s what I think about when I read Psalm 146.
“The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.”
He lifts up those who are weighed down.
I love that picture.
Because sometimes life gets so heavy that we don’t know how to carry it anymore.
Grief.
Depression.
Fear.
Disappointment.
Things we never imagined we’d have to face.
And sometimes, when we’ve been carrying those burdens long enough, we start believing the lie that nobody sees us.
Nobody understands.
Nobody cares.
But that’s not the heart of Jesus.
When He walked this earth, He moved toward hurting people.
He didn’t turn away from their pain.
He saw them.
He listened.
He cared.
And He still does.
Maybe that’s why Jacob’s story stays with me.
Because when he describes that moment in his car, he doesn’t talk about hearing a great radio station or even a great song.
He talks about feeling the presence of Jesus.
And that brings me back to the question I started with.
What would it have been like to see Jesus?
To hear His voice?
To experience His compassion firsthand?
Well, we may not be able to stand beside Him on a dusty road in Galilee.
But we can still experience His love.
Through His Word.
Through prayer.
Through the people He places in our lives.
And sometimes, through an unexpected song that reaches us right when we need it.
Friend, I don’t know what you’re carrying today.
Maybe you’re walking through something so painful that you haven’t even found the words to tell somebody.
Maybe you’ve been smiling for everyone else while quietly falling apart inside.
Or maybe you know someone who’s hurting, and you don’t know how to help.
Please remember this.
You were never meant to carry your darkest moments alone.
Bring your pain to Jesus.
And let somebody you trust know what you’re going through.
There are people who care about you and want to help you take the next step.
Because your life matters.
Your story matters.
And even when you can’t see a way forward, there is still hope.
Jacob’s story reminds me that sometimes the most important moment isn’t when everything suddenly gets better.
It’s when someone finds enough hope to take one more step.
And maybe that’s what you need today.
Not every answer.
Not a perfect tomorrow.
Just enough hope for the next step.
The same Jesus who saw the hurting and lifted up the brokenhearted is still reaching people today.
Even in the places where life feels like it’s fallen apart.
Because Jesus is still reaching people in the rubble.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to encounter Jesus face-to-face? How have you experienced His love in your own life?
- Can you remember a time when a song, Scripture, or unexpected conversation brought comfort when you needed it most?
- Psalm 146 says the Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. What burden do you need to bring before Him today?
- Why is it important to remember that seeking help from others can be part of how God cares for us?
- Is there someone in your life who may be struggling quietly and needs you to reach out, listen, or simply remind them they’re not alone?
QUESTION TO CARRY WITH YOU TODAY
Who might need me to be a reminder today that Jesus sees them, loves them, and hasn’t forgotten their story?
