Day 2 of 7
The Honest Cry of Lament
My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Psalm 22:1-21 slowly. Don't rush past the painful parts.
This is perhaps the most striking lament in all of Scripture. It opens with the words Jesus himself would cry from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Reflection
The psalmist (David) holds nothing back. Look at the raw honesty:
- "Why are you so far from saving me?" (v. 1)
- "I cry by day, but you do not answer" (v. 2)
- "I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind" (v. 6)
- "My strength is dried up like a potsherd" (v. 15)
And yet — notice what David does not do. He does not walk away from God. He does not stop praying. The very fact that he cries "My God" means the relationship is still there, even in the agony.
"The lament psalms teach us that faith is not the absence of doubt or pain, but the insistence on bringing that doubt and pain to God." — Tim Keller, The Songs of Jesus
Going Deeper
Read Matthew 27:46 where Jesus quotes Psalm 22:1 from the cross. Jesus — the Son of God — chose these words of lament in His darkest hour. If the Savior himself used a lament psalm, then surely we are permitted to lament honestly before God.
Augustine reminds us: "What we must not do is to suppress the anguish and the questioning. God can handle our honest cries."
Lament is not the opposite of faith. It is one of faith's most courageous expressions.
Key Quotes
“The lament psalms teach us that faith is not the absence of doubt or pain, but the insistence on bringing that doubt and pain to God.”
“What we must not do is to suppress the anguish and the questioning. God can handle our honest cries.”
Prayer Focus
Bringing your deepest pain or confusion honestly before God, trusting that He can handle your raw emotions
Meditation
Is there a grief, frustration, or unanswered question you have been holding back from God? Write it down as your own lament psalm — be completely honest.
Question for Discussion
Why do most churches make little room for lament in corporate worship, and what might we be losing — both personally and as a community — by skipping from pain straight to praise?