Psalm 71:16,20,23
With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have redeemed.
One who has walked with The Lord through hardship and calamity has a greater confidence during suffering than one who has had to rely on God very little. This Psalm is about an old saint who has seen God’s faithfulness so many times that he is able to praise The Lord amidst dark trials.
There is some need he has for reviving (vs.20). Some way he is begging his Heavenly Father to come through. Yet, this old saint has seen God’s faithfulness countless times which grants him the courage to walk into situations of duress with God’s faithfulness as his closest companion (vs.16).
It is as if the mighty deeds of his God are a shield about him. Those mighty acts done throughout his years. Walking into the present crisis while recalling the goodness of God in the past. He comes into circumstances that are wanting with praise on his lips (vs.23). The Lord— his Mighty God— has proved His faithfulness to him over and over. So much so that this saint recognizes the boast and strength of his life is not in his own goodness, but in the righteousness of His God. He relies on a God who only does what is right. Fortifying his soul when so much wrong is round about him.
This begs the question: Who/what is our companion when we walk into fearful situations, times of testing, or unwanted calamity?
Do we enter into suffering carrying the shield of faith? Or do we come with dread on our left and hopelessness on our right? If that is where you are today you don’t have to stay there. Earlier in this Psalm, the psalmist cries out:
Be a rock of refuge for me, where I can always go.
Psalm 71:3
Everyone of us is failing in some area of our lives. But today it is as if God helped me to see the glory that comes from a life bent on trusting in His promises, character, and faithfulness. I see the glory of a man who has little left to bring in the world’s eyes yet has everything to bring in the eyes of his fellow brothers and sisters. In the eyes of heaven.
Let this be an encouragement for us to be careful to remember God’s faithfulness in years past—recounting his wondrous deeds—and walking into every situation more aware of our dear Companion. One who has proved Himself to us most vividly on the cross. One who promises and one who carries out His promises. One who has the power to raise the dead things in our lives. One who takes what the enemy meant for evil and turns it for good. One who has promised us that we will never walk alone.
Let us beg that we might have the faith of the psalmist. Let us pray today that God would be a rock of refuge for us…a place we can always go. And if God grants you the years, will you be found to be old and gray with joy on your lips?
The question today is really this. Who are you becoming?