The first line of today’s Psalm is one that most of us know quite well, and it is one that is always associated with defeat. It is one of the last things that Jeuss says upon the cross – My God, my God, why have you forgiven me. It starts with despair and pain, but when you keep reading, what do you find? You find victory. This Psalm ends with hope for what the Lord has yet to do. So, Jesus was not defeated upon the cross; He was victorious. This is not a Psalm of defeat, but a Psalm of victory!

Shameless plug: here’s a link to Method(ist) to the Madness, our

Join us for our daily reflections with Andy. In 10 short minutes, he’ll dig a little deeper into Scripture and help you better understand God’s Word.

If you’d like to receive this daily reflection on your phone, text @39110 to 81010 to sign up.

Click on the image above or this link to watch today’s video.

You can read today’s passage here.

You can podcast this reflection here. You can subscribe through Spotify or Apple Podcasts as well.

Or, if you’d like to read the transcript of the video, keep reading!

This week, we’ve taken a brief journey through the Psalms as a way to reset and prepare our hearts before stepping into Holy Week. Today, we arrive at Psalm 22—a psalm that may sound more familiar than you realize. Its very first words are ones that Jesus cried out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

We often interpret this as a cry of abandonment, anguish, or even defeat. And on the surface, it certainly feels that way. But when we take time to read the entirety of Psalm 22, we discover a deeper, richer truth—one that moves us from despair to hope, from pain to praise, and ultimately from defeat to victory.

Psalm 22 begins with raw honesty. The psalmist pours out deep distress, describing physical suffering, mockery, isolation, and an overwhelming sense of being surrounded by enemies. The first half of the psalm is heavy, even haunting:

“I am poured out like water… My mouth is dried up like a potsherd… They divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

These are the words Jesus intentionally pointed to when he quoted the opening line on the cross. In the Jewish tradition, the Psalms were deeply known—recited, sung, memorized. Quoting the first line of a psalm was the equivalent of invoking the whole psalm. Just as someone today might say, “Amazing grace,” and everyone hears the rest in their minds, so too would those present at the crucifixion have recognized what Jesus was quoting.

And what happens in the second half of the psalm?

There’s a turn. A shift. A movement from pain to praise.

“He did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted… he heard when I cried to him.”
“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord…”
“Posterity shall serve him… proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.”

That last phrase—“He has done it”—echoes Christ’s final words from the cross in John’s Gospel: “It is finished.” Jesus was not just quoting a cry of despair. He was pointing to a psalm of ultimate vindication, a declaration of triumph.

What looked like defeat was actually the moment of victory.

This is the radical hope of our faith: that God redeems even the most painful, heartbreaking moments. The cross, a Roman instrument of death and humiliation, becomes the central symbol of Christian victory. The very place where it appeared all hope was lost is where God’s greatest act of salvation unfolded.

As Paul reminds us in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” This doesn’t mean every moment feels good—but it does mean God can redeem even our darkest days.

Psalm 22 shows us that pain is real. Suffering is not ignored. But neither is it the final word. God hears. God delivers. God transforms.

So today, whatever burdens you’re carrying, remember this: in Christ, your suffering is never wasted. Your struggles are not the end of the story. Through the power of the cross and the hope of the resurrection, God can bring beauty from ashes, hope from hurt, and life from death.

Psalm 22 is not a psalm of defeat. It is a psalm of resurrection-shaped victory.