The Invisible Killer - A Crushed Spirit (Proverbs 18:14)
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Proverbs 18:14
A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
We all know what it’s like to go through hard times. Maybe you’ve been sick, lost a job, or faced something painful. But have you ever felt something worse – something inside you breaking? That’s what Proverbs 18:14 talks about today.
This verse today depicts two kinds of trouble: outward trouble and inward trouble. The first half of the verse depicts outward trouble, trouble that you can see, saying:
‘A man's spirit will endure sickness,’
While the second half of the verse depicts inward trouble, trouble you can’t see, saying:
‘but a crushed spirit who can bear?’
These two kinds of troubles are contrasted with each other in this verse, showing us what I like to call ‘The Invisible Killer’.
You see, outward troubles – sickness, injuries, setbacks – are hard, but they’re bearable when there’s peace inside. But when your spirit is crushed? That’s a whole different weight to carry.
That’s why, to me, a crushed spirit is the ‘invisible killer’. You can’t necessarily see it at work in any one person, yet it takes captive the most people. It’s like a building with a crack in its foundation. From the outside, it looks fine – strong, steady. But over time, that unseen damage spreads, and one day, POOF. It collapses. A crushed spirit is like that. No one sees the damage right away, but inside, it’s breaking apart.
That’s hard and also so good to know.
On a horizontal level, it’s good to know that as brothers and sisters in Christ, so that we can encourage one another and pick each other up when someone feels crushed in spirit. When they feel they can’t go on. When their heart is so heavy it feels like it's anchoring them in one place and they don’t want to move or do anything. It’s then when encouragement is needed most.
And of course, on a vertical level, we must always and chiefly look vertically to the Lord, the one who wants our crushed spirits, the one who wants our burdens and our pains, and the only One who can bear them. He can carry those burdens.
His shoulders are broad enough to carry the load, and He wants to do that.
So if you are reading this and you can relate to this verse, if you are feeling or have felt crushed in spirit, I encourage you to look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, who can bear your crushed spirit, even though you can’t.
And for those of you who may not be crushed in spirit today, I still think this verse just oozes the call to encourage others, because it doesn’t omit trouble at all. Trouble is imminent in this verse, and I’m sure we all know someone enduring trouble because, get this, everyone is enduring trouble. So encourage someone today with the Word. Again, you never know the impact it might have.
With those two thoughts and this verse in mind, I’ll ask you:
How can you take what is crushing your spirit and hurting your heart to the Lord?
Who in your life might need encouragement right now? How can you reach out?
Let’s pray.
