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Forsaken
"My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me? Why do you remain so distant? Why do you ignore my cries for help?" (Psalm 22).
Have you ever felt that way?
Emotions can be powerful, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. Since we cannot see Him, we tend to rely on what we feel. But there is a very real danger in using emotions as a measure of truth. Because despite their intensity, emotions are not reliable–they lie. For example, we may feel abandoned by God, but the truth is this: "... I will never forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).
So what do we do when emotions seem more real than reality? Psalm 22 is a beautiful example of what to do.
The Psalmist starts by freely pouring out the anguish in his heart. He doesn't hold anything back: "Every day I call to you My God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief" (v. 2).
God honors truth. He desires truth in our inmost parts. So trying to hold back, hide or deny our feelings doesn't honor Him. He already knows how we feel, so expressing it doesn't offend Him and it actually helps us. Holding back emotions takes a lot of energy. Expressing them to Him is a release that frees us.
Once the Psalmist has expressed his anguish, he immediately directs his mind to a statement of fact: "Yet you are holy" (v. 3). He doesn't allow emotions to run rampant or control him. He checks them with what he knows to be true, regardless: God is holy. He isn't mean. He isn't vindictive. He isn't indifferent. He is good. He is light. He is holy.
He then focuses on what God has done in the past: "Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed" (v. 4). By recalling what God has done in the past, he reminds himself that God never abandons His people. And since God doesn't change, He will not abandon him either.
There is always comfort in Truth.
What I love about this Psalm is that even in the midst of his anguish–and without his knowing it–David is being led by the Spirit of God to prophesy. Throughout the Psalm, one moment you see David, the next, Christ. They are both there.
"My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?" are the exact words Christ quoted on the cross. They are the ultimate identification of God with man. It is as if the Son of Man, first through His Psalmist and then on the cross, is trying to assure us: I know how you feel. But even as I was experiencing the abandonment, I was securing your relationship with Me ... forever.
-Maria Lund