Have you ever felt like God was distant?

Not gone. But quiet.

You pray, but nothing seems to change. You look for help, but you don’t see that help come. You wonder what God is doing…or if He is doing anything at all.

Psalm 22 begins right there.

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

That’s not a calm, reflective statement. It’s a cry. It’s what faith sounds like when it is under pressure.

And yet, even in that question, there is something important.

“My God.”

The psalmist is struggling, but he is still holding on. He is not walking away. He is bringing his confusion and pain directly to the Lord.

Sometimes we think faith means always sounding confident. Always having the right words and feeling steady.

But Psalm 22 shows us something different.

Faith speaks honestly.

It asks hard questions. It cries out in desperation. It brings pain into the presence of God instead of hiding it.

But the Psalmist doesn’t stop there. In the middle of that struggle, the psalmist remembers. He recalls how God has been faithful in the past. How He delivered His people. How those who trusted in Him were not put to shame.

Nothing has changed yet. The situation is still hard. But memory begins to shape hope.

For Christians, this psalm takes on even deeper meaning.

These are the words Jesus spoke from the cross.

In that moment, He was not just quoting a psalm. He was living it. He entered fully into human suffering, even to the point of being forsaken by the Father.

And He did that for us.

He took on our sin. He carried our guilt. He literally suffered hell for us on the cross. He stepped into the deepest darkness so that we would not be abandoned.

So when you feel like God is distant, you are not alone.

Jesus has been there.

And because of Him, distance is not the final word. God has come near to you in Christ. He hears you. He holds you, even when you don’t feel it.

It reminds me of the beloved poem, “Footprints in the sand” by Mary Stevenson.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
‘You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?’

The Lord replied,
‘The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you.’

Psalm 22 gives you words for those moments.

You can cry out.

You can question.

And you can still say, “My God,” and know that He is with you, carrying you.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

There are times when You feel far away and I don’t understand what You are doing. Help me to bring my struggles to You honestly. Remind me that Jesus has entered into my suffering and that I am never alone. Strengthen my faith to trust You, even when I cannot see what You are doing.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.