Anyone who thinks the Bible doesn’t have anything to say about the real problems of the real world hasn’t read the Psalms. For let’s face it – David knew a lot about abandonment, betrayal, and disappointment. And he wasn’t afraid to be honest about such things, even in his prayers.

In fact, even though he sometimes felt like God had abandoned him (verse 1), he kept crying out to God day and night (verse 2). Time after time in this psalm, even as he continues to recount his woes, he keeps asking God to help him: “Be not far from me” (verse 11). “Hasten to my assistance, deliver my soul” (verses 19 and 20). Even in the midst of his own miseries, David not only keeps on praising God (verse 25), but he is confident that God will continue to be praised throughout the ages (verses 30-31).

So, how can David have such confidence in spite of the difficult circumstances of his life? In the first place because he remembers Who God is. Because He is holy, David knows He will not endure the presence of injustice forever (verse 3). Just so, because God is the One Who rules over all the nations, David knows He has the authority to put a stop to all the wickedness in the world (verse 28). And because God never changes, we can be just as sure of God’s power and justice, no matter how messed up our lives and our world may seem to be.

So how can we build our faith even while our problems continue? Well, David not only remembers how God has blessed and protected his people throughout their history (verses 4-5). He also recalls his own experience of God’s providence (verses 10-11). And we would do well to draw the same sorts of lessons, not only from the Bible and from subsequent history, but also from the way that God has answered so many of our prayers throughout our lives.

For we have even greater reason to believe in God’s holiness, justice, and goodness – after all, we can remember how Jesus gave Himself up for us on the cross. In fact, even though it was written a thousand years earlier, this psalm predicted so many of the details of that terrible day, from how Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced (verse 16), to how the soldiers cast lots for his clothes (verse 18). David thus looked forward just as we look back to the greatest example of God’s love for us, and of how that love endures in spite of the pain it sometimes has to go through. And it is that kind of love that proves we can go on trusting God – even when nothing seems to be going right.

Psalm 22 (NASB)

For the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David . My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.
2 O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.
3 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 In Thee our fathers trusted; They trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.
5 To Thee they cried out, and were delivered; In Thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm, and not a man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying,
8 “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;
18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But Thou, O LORD, be not far off; O Thou my help, hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth; And from the horns of the wild oxen Thou dost answer me.
22 I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From Thee comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations will worship before Thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’s, And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.