Often we think we are the only ones suffering then read
Psalm 22 which David opens:
My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
These words should sound familiar as Jesus spoke them on the
cross in Matthew 27:46. Why would David and Jesus, both men of God, speak these
words? One had God’s hand on his life from a very early age while the other was
God, yet both though God had forsaken them.
It is unclear when Psalm 22 was written, if when he was
running from Saul or his son Absalom, but we can see many of the prophecies of
Jesus in this. This Psalm is called the “Messianic Psalm” since verse 1 was
spoken on the cross and verse 18 talks about dividing of his clothes, be it
David or Jesus we have a parallel. This is one of those section that one can
see in the Bible that shows us that Jesus was the Messiah from David’s line.
But when looking at suffering and how we feel understand
that feeling abandoned is a “normal” part of the process. We also need to
understand that no matter how “forsaken” we may feel God is always with us.
David recognizes this throughout this Psalm yet is still struggling with his
problems.
If you are in the middle of a struggle or living in chronic
pain, you need to continue to have faith that God is with you. And be it hiding
in a cave while your pursuer craps on you or hanging on a cross, know that God
understands your fear having lived it Himself!! Think about Jesus saying “why
have you forsaken me?” Think about Jesus being God in flesh, then ask why would
He say that. This is where God understands since He was feeling “forsaken” on
the cross having no control over the pain and suffering the human body felt.
When you feel alone, know that you are not alone but
just not plugged in to God. Notice how some “seasons” we feel everything is
right and the connection with God is strong. It makes those “seasons” when God
seems away even more difficult. But as we have seen in almost every great
figure in the Bible, they required years of “suffering” to train them for God’s
task at hand. God is always here and always working in our lives, often we can’t
see it or understand it.