Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Do not be far
from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
—Psalm 22:9–11
It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that God can betray us. Look at what is being said: “Trouble is near and there is no one to help.” When you contrast this statement with “you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you,” you see the dilemma that suffering mankind faces.
If God created us, then why does He allow us to suffer? This is the problem that confronts Job. Suffering showers down on him and he is asked both to defend himself and justify God. In the end, though, he places all his faith in God: “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)
Jesus experienced conflict from the earliest days of His ministry, and He warns us that, as followers, we can expect nothing less. “In this world you will have trouble,” but He adds, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
In the end, the experiences of the everyday cannot be equated with the eternal. Jesus sees beyond the horizon of this life, and He asks us to do the same, but He also offers us comfort in our labors and in our suffering: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
—Eric Kampmann, Signposts