Psalm 22 provides a biblical template for responding to the emotionally stressful atmosphere around us in a spiritually healthy way. It is usually associated with Jesus because the Gospels report it as reflecting Jesus’ experience on the cross. For people of faith, that provides us some parameters within which we can pattern our own response to challenging situations ranging from the mildly uncomfortable to the tragic.
The Gospels report the opening words of the psalm as Jesus prayer on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” We are encouraged to express our most despairing thoughts and feelings aloud to God. We need not fear that we are being blasphemous or insulting. As you continue with the words of the psalm, it is clear that the psalmist is not holding back any negative complaints, but is shouting them out to God, including the psalmist complaint that God is not being responsive.
The psalmist uses the first eighteen verses articulating his or her complaint against God and neighbor and the resulting stress and agony of the petitioner. Having cleansed the soul of angst, the psalmist moves from there to petition for God’s assistance. The psalmist is clear about the deliverance s/he seeks. The movement is from isolation to the rebuilding of community. First there is the connection with God because the psalmist has been boldly honest and senses that s/he has been heard. Then the psalmist connects the personal experience with the community of faith. Not only does the psalmist shout out to the community, connecting with the neighbor, but with the ancestors of the faith as well, “offspring of Jacob.”
From there the connection with the needy of the world are addressed, “The poor shall eat and be satisfied; . . .” And finally praise and thanksgiving is offered. The psalmist is reconnected with the joy of life experienced in the relationship with God and neighbor. The future is again filled with promise and hope — “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn saying that he has done it.”
It is a good template for confronting the entire range of situations that cause us stress in the world.
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