From Forsaken to Faithful: A Devotional on Psalm 22

Psalm 22 is one of the most profound "Laments" in the Bible. It is uniquely powerful because it moves from the darkest depths of human suffering to a global vision of God’s kingdom. For Christians, it is deeply sacred, as its opening words were cried out by Jesus on the cross. It teaches us how to pray when we feel abandoned and how to trust when we cannot see the end of the tunnel.

The Scripture

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? 2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest...

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. 4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them...

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me...

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. — Psalm 22 (NIV)

The Cry of the Forsaken

The Psalm begins with a "Why?" that echoes through the ages: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (v. 1).

There is a specific kind of pain that comes not just from suffering, but from the silence of God during that suffering. David (and later, Jesus) doesn't hide his emotions. He admits to feeling abandoned. This gives us "holy permission" to be honest with God. God is not offended by our "Why?" or our feelings of distance. By saying "My God," even in the midst of feeling forsaken, David is still reaching out for the only hand that can save him.

The "Yet" of Faith

In verse 3, we see a massive shift: "Yet you are enthroned..."

Despite his feelings, David chooses to lean on what he knows to be true rather than what he feels to be true. He reminds himself of God’s track record—how God delivered his ancestors when they trusted Him (v. 4). When your current situation feels hopeless, your memory becomes a spiritual weapon. You look back at the "Sanctuary" of God's history to find the strength to survive the "Night" of your current pain.

A Suffering That Saves the World

The end of the Psalm (v. 22–31) changes tone completely. The individual sufferer is no longer alone; he is in the middle of a great assembly, praising God.

The scope of the victory is staggering: "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord" (v. 27). This suggests that the suffering described in the first half of the Psalm wasn't meaningless. It was part of a larger plan to bring the nations to God. Because Jesus endured the "Why?" of Psalm 22 on the cross, we can be certain that we will never truly be forsaken. Our "length of days" is secure because He took the "sleep of death" (v. 15) for us.

Reflection & Application

• Honesty in Prayer: Is there a "Why?" you’ve been afraid to ask God? Bring it to Him today. Use David’s language: "Lord, I feel far from You, yet I know You are holy."

• The Power of "Yet": What is the "Yet" in your life right now? Complete this sentence: "My situation is difficult and I feel overwhelmed, YET I know that God is..."

• The Big Picture: When you suffer, it’s easy to become "inward-focused." Psalm 22 ends by looking "outward" at the nations. Remind yourself that God can use your endurance to encourage others and even to bring people to Himself.

Prayer

My God, thank You that I can be completely honest with You. When I feel abandoned or unheard, help me to remember Your faithfulness in the past. Thank You, Jesus, for crying out these words on the cross so that I would never have to be truly alone. I trust that Your dominion is over my life and over all the nations. Amen.