The Psalmist, David, recognizes a dirty little secret about us. We find afflictions to be gross. Needy people can disgust us. Don’t dare sneeze in a public place or you will be shunned. If you’ve ever been fired, you know the weird feeling that it seems like people everywhere know about it. The cashier at Whole Foods is not really sure you should be shopping there. The bank teller you’ve known for months checks your i.d. twice. It’s like you have a smell about you. If you’ve ever been dumped by someone, it seems to be written on your face. They get your order wrong at your favorite restaurant. They lose your appointment at the doctor’s office. When we’re crying ugly tears of loss, people don’t want to hug us because we’re all hot and reeking of sadness. We can smell like our sickness or the sweat of our stress. Even our dogs know something is wrong. Affliction can make us repellent to others. And worst of all, we can think we deserve it. We can think God views our suffering as a moral failure. It’s a sign of his judgment.

But David has discovered that’s a lie. God has not despised the affliction of the afflicted. He thought God had forsaken him. God had not. He thought God turned his face away from his prayers. God did not. He heard. He delivered.