Psalm 22: From Anguish to Praise - Finding God in Abandonment

When the Soul Cries in the Dark

Have you ever experienced that feeling where your prayers seem to ricochet off the ceiling? That moment when you cry out, but God's silence is deafening? Psalm 22 takes us to that sacred and frightening territory of the human soul - the place where faith meets absolute despair.

Possibly written by David, this psalm occupies a unique position in Scripture. It comes right after Psalm 21, which celebrates victories and divine faithfulness, and precedes the comforting Psalm 23, with its loving Shepherd. But here, in chapter 22, we find something different: the raw cry of someone who feels completely abandoned.

What makes this psalm extraordinary is not just its brutal honesty, but its prophetic fulfillment. Centuries later, Jesus would cry out these same words on the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). What began as the lament of a king became the cry of the King of kings.

The Cry that Breaks the Silence

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?" (Psalm 22:1)

In these opening verses, the psalmist is not being polite or religious. He is being real. Notice that he does not say "O God" generically - he says "MY God." There is intimacy here, not distance. It’s like a child shouting "Father!" in the dark, not a stranger asking favors from an impersonal deity.

The Hebrew word translated as "groaning" is the same used for the roar of a wounded lion. It is not a whispered prayer; it is a visceral scream that comes from the depths of the soul. You are allowed to be this way with God. He prefers your angry honesty over your religious pretense.

Think about it: when was the last time you were completely honest with God about your pain? Not that edited version you present in worship, but the real, raw, unfiltered lament?

Anchors in the Midst of the Storm

But something fascinating happens in verses 3 to 5. In the midst of despair, the psalmist begins to remember:

"Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them." (Psalm 22:3-4)

This is one of the most powerful lessons of the psalm: the memory of God's faithfulness is an anchor when we feel adrift. The psalmist is not denying his current pain, but he is refusing to let that pain be the only narrative.

A friend of mine went through severe depression a few years ago. She told me she created what she called an "evidence notebook" - a journal where she recorded every time God had been faithful in the past. On the darkest days, when she couldn’t pray, she would read those pages. "It wasn’t a magic solution," she told me, "but it gave me something solid to hold onto when everything felt liquid."

What evidence of God's faithfulness could you start documenting today?

The Humiliation that Anticipates the Cross

Verses 6 to 8 are painful to read:

"But I am a worm and not a man; scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads." (Psalm 22:6-7)

"I am a worm" - imagine the total dehumanization of these words. And notice the striking prophecy: the mockery described here was fulfilled at the foot of the cross when the religious leaders shook their heads and said, "He saved others; he cannot save himself" (Matthew 27:42).

Here is a profound truth: God understands rejection because He experienced it. Jesus was not just rejected; He was despised to the point of being treated as less than human. When you feel invisible, remember: God Himself knows what it is like to be seen as nothing.

This section teaches us that suffering and humiliation are not signs that God has abandoned us. Sometimes, it is in the deepest valley that we are closest to the heart of Christ.

The Cry that Precedes the Dawn

In verses 19 to 21, we see the plea intensify:

"But you, O Lord, do not be far off; O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!" (Psalm 22:19-20)

The urgency is palpable. "Come quickly" - this is not a patient and resigned prayer. It is a cry from someone who is at their limit. And you know what? God honors that kind of desperate prayer.

Thinking practically: often we try to be "too spiritual" in our prayers. We use beautiful language, quote verses, try to impress. But this psalm gives us permission to simply shout "Help!" when that is all we can say.

A pastor I know went through a severe burnout period. He confessed to me that for months, his only prayer was "Jesus, help." Repeated hundreds of times a day. "I thought God would be disappointed with my lack of eloquence," he said. "But I found out He was waiting for me to stop performing and just ask for help."

The Surprising Turnaround

And then something extraordinary happens in verses 22 to 31. The tone changes completely:

"I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you." (Psalm 22:22)

Wait - what happened? There is no description of a dramatic miracle or a visible intervention. But there is a fundamental shift in perspective. The psalmist moves from "why have you forsaken me?" to "I will tell of your name."

This is one of the most practical lessons of the psalm: praise is not necessarily the result of changed circumstances, but of transformed perspective. The psalmist chooses to worship not because the pain has ended, but because he chooses to trust in God's character, not in his temporary feelings.

The final verses are glorious:

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you." (Psalm 22:27)

From a personal lament, the psalm explodes into a global vision of worship. Your individual suffering connects to God's redemptive plan for all nations. At the cross, this psalm found its ultimate fulfillment - the suffering of one led to the salvation of many.

Applying This Truth to Our Journey

1. Practice Radical Honesty with God

Start a prayer journal where you can be completely honest. No filters, no forced religious language. Just you and God. He can handle your anger, your doubts, your "whys." Psalm 22 gives us permission to bring all the mess of our soul before Him.

2. Create Your "Memorial of Faithfulness"

Follow the psalmist's example and document the times God has been faithful. It can be a physical notebook, a note on your phone, or even photos that represent moments of divine provision. On dark days, you will have concrete evidence that God has not changed.

3. Be Community for the Broken

Psalm 22 reminds us that suffering is universal. Your experience of pain can be the bridge that brings hope to another person. When you go through restoration (even if incomplete), share your story. Don’t wait until you are "totally healed" to help others - your ongoing journey may be exactly what someone needs to see.

4. Choose Praise Even in Waiting

Note that the psalmist begins to praise BEFORE seeing the complete answer. This is not cheap positive thinking; it is robust faith. Practice declaring truths about God's character even when your feelings contradict those truths. "God is good" can be a confession of faith before it is an emotional experience.

Questions to Carry Forward

As you reflect on this powerful psalm, consider:

How can you transform your current lament into a deeper connection point with God, rather than a reason to pull away? Psalm 22 shows that God is near precisely in the moments when He seems farthest away.

In what practical ways can you create "memorials of faithfulness" to strengthen your faith in times of spiritual drought? Think of something you can start today.

The Final Invitation

Psalm 22 does not promise us that we will never feel abandonment or pain. But it assures us of something even better: that we can bring that pain exactly as it is to a God who understands, because He Himself experienced it.

Jesus chose these words - "My God, why have you forsaken me?" - not because He was genuinely abandoned, but to fully enter into our experience of abandonment. He descended to our lowest point so that no valley would be too deep for His presence to reach.

Today, you may be in verse 1 ("why have you forsaken me?") or in verse 22 ("I will tell of your name"). Both places are sacred. Both are part of the journey of faith. And in both, God is closer than you imagine.

May this psalm give you the courage to bring your true self before God - the broken, the confused, the desperate. And may you discover, as the psalmist discovered, that it is precisely there, in the rawest honesty, that the most genuine worship is born.