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“We are brought down to the dust, our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love” (Psalm 44:25-26).

Often in the Christian life, faithfulness does not equal success, at least, not the way the world measures success. The clearest example of this is the ministry of Jesus. He was faithful in preaching the Good News of the kingdom, in healing the sick, in delivering the possessed, in teaching the multitudes, and in training His disciples. He was faithful in doing everything His Father sent him to do (John 17:4).

Yet all rejected Him at the end and His enemies crucified Him. By sundown on that first Good Friday, as Jesus' followers limped away in despair, it seemed that Satan had won.

Frequently in the history of the church, those faithful to God have experienced similar defeat. Untold numbers of Christians died in Hitler's gas chambers and in Russia's gulags. Other nations have made Christians the objects of military and police massacres. Faithfulness does not mean survival.

Psalm 44 is written in the context of Israel's faithfulness and defeat. A military campaign has been lost. The enemy has taken the spoils, sold captives as slaves, and deported them. The king, who is also the commander of the army, has been dishonoured, and the battle has resulted in great slaughter.

While the memory of past triumphs remains, and the hope for fresh victories has not died, the difficult fact is that God's people are defeated, and Israel's state of weakness brings reproach.

Often, Israel’s defeat is a result of God’s judgement upon her faithlessness. But not here. This psalm justifies Israel before God: “All of this happened to us, even though we had not forgotten you. We had not broken the covenant you made with us. Our hearts had not turned away from you. Our feet had not wandered from your path” (17,18).

She knows that victory is only in the strength of the Lord her God. And the claim is made that God's people have remained true to Him. The question is: if Israel is faithful, why is she not successful? How can a faithful people be overrun?

The question is not answered. It lingers through the ages getting picked up in Romans 8, where verse 22 of this psalm is quoted, “But because of you, we face death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be killed” (8:36). Paul uses this psalm to encourage the young Christians to remain steadfast in the face of many hardships. Here too the suffering is unexplained. We are encouraged to endure because of the glory that is to come. Suffering does not negate God’s redemption work.

Christ has accomplished salvation. This salvation is much more expansive than just the forgiveness of sins. It includes the restoration of the entire cosmos. But that salvation is like a seed that has been planted and is growing but is not yet ready for harvesting.

We live in that growth period. While we wait for the fullness of salvation, we will experience suffering. Yet, just as surely as Jesus was raised from the dead, in due time, we will experience the completion of God's redemption.

We endure suffering in the trust that God is with us and someday we will experience the glory his new creation.