Scripture
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22:1-2 NIV
Question
| What can you do when you feel abandoned by God in the midst of suffering or going through a difficult time? |
Psalm 22
Abandoned and Hopeful
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help.
—Psalm 22:1
Do you ever wonder what Jesus was thinking as he hung on the cross? We don’t know a lot, but we do know that Jesus prayed these words while he was on the cross. Having prayed the psalms all his life, he knew this one well, and it burst out of his heart as he died for the sins of the world.
God being forsaken by God? It was bad enough that while he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane his friends couldn’t stay awake and hours later would abandon him, but to be abandoned by his own Father!
What did he mean when he cried out those words? In some profound way, beyond our ability to understand, Jesus, in his pain and anguish, felt abandoned by his Father. But this is not a cry of doubt, it’s an urgent appeal to his Father. For where else can he turn in the midst of his suffering? Jesus never loses hope in his Father.
Why are you so far away when I groan for help.
—Psalm 22:1
Do you ever wonder what Jesus was thinking as he hung on the cross? We don’t know a lot, but we do know that Jesus prayed these words while he was on the cross. Having prayed the psalms all his life, he knew this one well, and it burst out of his heart as he died for the sins of the world.
God being forsaken by God? It was bad enough that while he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane his friends couldn’t stay awake and hours later would abandon him, but to be abandoned by his own Father!
What did he mean when he cried out those words? In some profound way, beyond our ability to understand, Jesus, in his pain and anguish, felt abandoned by his Father. But this is not a cry of doubt, it’s an urgent appeal to his Father. For where else can he turn in the midst of his suffering? Jesus never loses hope in his Father.
Suffering and despair are not what we think of in our relationship with Jesus, but the fact is that the life of faith includes struggle, suffering, and real loss.
David describes what we all have experienced at some time in our lives (vv. 16-18). Perhaps you are experiencing this now. Let’s not sugarcoat this. It hurts to the very core of our being. Every part of David’s being is in pain. But wait, it doesn’t end on a note of despair, but in soaring hope and wondrous worship (see vv. 24-27).
Take a moment and reflect on a time of past or current suffering in your life. What kind of emotions were you experiencing and how did you express them? How did you experience God? Did you feel his presence or did you feel abandoned? How did you respond?
You can pray the words of this psalm to express your grief. This prayer, like all prayer, is soaked in the blood of Christ.
David describes what we all have experienced at some time in our lives (vv. 16-18). Perhaps you are experiencing this now. Let’s not sugarcoat this. It hurts to the very core of our being. Every part of David’s being is in pain. But wait, it doesn’t end on a note of despair, but in soaring hope and wondrous worship (see vv. 24-27).
Take a moment and reflect on a time of past or current suffering in your life. What kind of emotions were you experiencing and how did you express them? How did you experience God? Did you feel his presence or did you feel abandoned? How did you respond?
You can pray the words of this psalm to express your grief. This prayer, like all prayer, is soaked in the blood of Christ.
Prayer