The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17 NKJV

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. NIV

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. NLT

The first daisy looks so disheveled. I, too, can look like that on the outside. Something felt broken for me. I did not always know just what, but God knows everything about me. He always wraps His arms around me and loves me despite my appearance. He always will when I ask. He loves me as I am.

Sometimes, I can look like this daisy on the outside yet feel like the first one on the inside. I am all torn up and falling apart because of sin. I don’t have answers to my questions and I don’t sit with the LORD long enough to hear His answers. I am all jumbled up yet look perfectly all together (well, sort of) from the outside. God knows this too!

Coming to Him with a contrite spirit, He holds me, forgives me, loves me as only He can.

Contrite: feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt

דַּכָּא

dakka’

very much crushed, very small, as dust

rejected, cast down

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

He is near to us and saves us when we are broken.

For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15

He dwells with us when we are crushed and at our lowest point.

“For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:2

He looks to us when we are but dust.

You return man to dust
and say, “Return, O children of man!” Psalm 90:3

He calls to us in the depth of our sin, in our guilt, in our depravity.

Praising You, Father that You accept me broken and with a crushed, contrite heart. How easily I can slip into feeling so far away from You that I can’t imagine that You would actually be so close to me with open arms, waiting for Your daughter to fall into Your loving arms. You pull me to You and I know Your love. All crumpled up and weary, You still love me and care about me, inside and outside. Praise You, Abba Father. I love You so.