My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
Psalm 22:1

Psalm 22 falls in the category of Psalms called ‘Messiahnic Psalms’. These are Psalms that look forward to the coming of Jesus and his life on earth. This is a powerful one because you will remember that these were the words that Jesus shouted from the cross at a dark hour in his life when he was afflicted with pain beyond pain and suffering beyond suffering. A bulk of the Psalm describes Jesus’s brutal death on a cross.

In that beautifully strange way, David writes this Psalm that’s rich with the Gospel of Jesus Christ centuries before Jesus himself walks this earth, but David also writes at a time when enemies surround him and he is overwhelmed by the situation and calling out to God who seems far. If you thought the Bible was a book without negative emotions of anxiety, fear discouragement among others, then you really ought to read the Psalms. Are we allowed to even speak like this to God? Yes, of course. The Psalms show us that you can come to God as you are and be real with what you are going through and how you are feeling. David was. Jesus was.

If you read the chapter to the end, you notice that at some point things shift and David heaps praise to God and pledges his commitment to declaring his name. He strengthens himself by praising God and proclaiming the promises of God.

When faced with a difficult situation, look at the cross of Jesus and learn from Jesus. Be real with God about your struggles and yet also hand them over to him and thank him for deliverance. Remember Jesus didn’t stay on the cross and today he lives in heaven with a powerful testimony of God’s greatness and goodness. Ask him to give you the same attitude as he had so that in every situation, no matter how difficult, you might be like him.

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