Psalm 22:6. "But I am a worm, and no man; scorned by men, and despised by the people." Psalm 22 is the one Jesus quoted from the cross. It begins with "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" The whole thing is very evocative of Jesus' life and death, and just further evidence that God is outside time, inspiring truth that echoes through it.

We all feel this way sometimes - scorned, despised, rejected, and forsaken, but it is how we approach this suffering that makes all the difference. Even in the midst of this Psalm, David remembers "Yet thou art holy ... In thee our fathers trusted; they trusted and thou didst deliver them." (Psalm 22:3-4). If we have that in mind, always, we can bear the suffering, because we know God does love us and does not let anything happen to us that is not for our greater good. Also, unlike David, we have Jesus' suffering to look to and from which to take courage. Jesus trusted even to death, and gained the Resurrection, the salvation of all, and His rightful place at the Father's right hand! Who, besides Him, saw that coming?

I have learned to really look at my suffering when I am in it, and not try to hide from it. Is it the result of something I've done, maybe some rash words, decision, or action, or even some deep-seated and unexamined sin or tendency to sin? Often it is, and it leads me to repentance, confession, and the resolve to do better. Sometimes, though, I really cannot see anything I've done to deserve being "scorned by men, and despised by the people." In those cases, I still have to trust that God is doing something much greater than I can imagine, and remember no one was foreseeing the Resurrection as they watched Jesus suffer and die on the cross.