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Review

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

We know those words from Jesus on the cross, but they were first written by David in Psalm 22. And if we’re honest, most of us have felt them on our lips at some point.

Believers often face two challenges:

Feeling like we shouldn’t admit the ache of God’s seeming absence.

Forgetting to run toward Him when we do.

David doesn’t deny his pain. He pours it out vividly:

“I am a worm and not a man.”

“All who see me mock me.”

“I cry by day, but you do not answer.”

“My strength is dried up like a potsherd.”  (Broken ceramic.)

If David truly believed he was forsaken, he wouldn’t even be crying out. His lament itself reveals that he still knows God is there.

And woven through the psalm is a pattern—small hinges of hope marked by yet and but:

“Yet you are holy.”

“Yet you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.”

“But He has heard when he cried to Him.”

“But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid.”

These little words shift the tone. They remind us that worship is most vulnerable and true when we hold both realities together: we don’t deny the pain, and we don’t deny God’s character. We can be uncertain of life’s circumstances while remaining certain of His faithfulness.

This psalm is both prophetic—pointing to Jesus—and reflective, showing us that even the Son of God voiced anguish. If David and Jesus could bring raw questions before the Father, so can we. And notice—even in his questioning, David still says, “My God.” There is pain, but there is also connection.

God is not afraid of our questions. He has carried us since birth. He is faithful, trustworthy, and good—even when life feels anything but. Life with Him is a holy tension: lamenting honestly, trusting deeply, and resting in His unchanging character.

Remember

Psalm 22 shows us the tension of faith—David cries out in deep pain while anchoring himself in God’s unchanging character. We too can be uncertain of life’s circumstances while remaining certain of God’s faithfulness.

Read
Review: Psalm 22
Read ahead: Psalm 23

Reflect

When have you felt distant from God, and how did you respond in that moment—did you run toward Him or pull away?

How does remembering God’s character and faithfulness help you hold on during seasons of pain or uncertainty?

In what ways can you bring your honest questions, doubts, or fears to God while still trusting Him as “My God”?

Respond

This week, identify one moment of pain, doubt, or uncertainty in your life and write it down. Next to it, write a truth about God’s character or a promise from Scripture that reminds you He is faithful. Take a few minutes each day to pray through these, honestly expressing your struggle while anchoring yourself in who God is.