“O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.” -Psalm 38:9–11
The internal grief and physical suffering the Psalmist experiences is intensified by personal rejection from family and friends who seem to fear his malady might be contagious. It is also likely that they too see his plague as the judgment of God and are, therefore, reluctant to offer their companionship or sympathy. There are clear echos of Job’s suffering here.
““He has put my brothers far from me, and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. My relatives have failed me, my close friends have forgotten me. The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger; I have become a foreigner in their eyes. I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer; I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy. My breath is strange to my wife, and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. Even young children despise me; when I rise they talk against me. All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me. My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh, and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.” -Job 19:13–20
The Psalmist attests to the fact that he knows God sees his suffering. There is nothing hidden from him; it is all laid out and exposed before him—open and naked, the writer of Hebrews says.
Thankfully, we have a friend in Jesus. When everyone else has forsaken us—including our health and peace of mind—because of our sins, Jesus is the Good Samaritan who draws near, and does not pass by on the other side.
“Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” -Luke 10:31–34