Psalm 119:22 | “Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.”

Like the psalmist, we may face reproach not for wrongdoing but for faithfulness. He asks God to lift the burden of scorn that clings like a heavy covering. He knows that obedience to God is never wasted, even when it only brings opposition. Spurgeon wisely observed, “O ye who are reproached, take your matters before the highest court, and leave them with the Judge of all the earth. God will rebuke your proud accuser; be ye quiet and let your advocate plead your cause.” Like the psalmist, when we are scorned by men, we must not take matters into our own hands but bring our hearts to God. When obedience costs us reputation, comfort, or approval, we must resist the urge to defend ourselves with retaliation. Instead, let us examine our hearts to be sure our suffering truly stems from faithfulness, then entrust our name to the Lord. Continue in obedience. Speak truth with love. And leave vindication in God’s hands. In time, he will either remove the reproach or use it to refine us, but he will never waste the faithfulness of those who keep his word.