Fast Forward and Repeat

Have you ever read a book or watched a movie that seemed cyclical? That is, the events described on page 137 sounded just like what was recounted on page 78? As children, my siblings and I enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. We also laughed at them sometimes. We could be pretty sure that in nearly every book, Chet's car (jalopy) would be stolen, someone would be kidnapped, and the police would arrive in the nick of time to save Nancy and her crew. The Hardy boys, of course, would end up on a case that just happened to intersect with their father's case, they would go on a dangerous stakeout in the middle of the night, and at least one of them would get tied up before being rescued by their father.

These predictable elements of books or movies often allow us to predict the ending or cause us to say, "I've seen this before." That's the position of the psalmist in Psalm 71. The psalm is written by an old man who looks back on his life and sees a familiar pattern. From the time of his birth and through the years of his youth, God has helped him in times of trouble (vs. 5-6). In fact, God's habitual intervention in his life has given him a reputation (v. 7). People talk about him with amazement as they notice God's work on his behalf.

Now as an old man, the psalmist faces another difficult situation in which he calls out for God to help him again. In this new adversity, people are watching to see what will happen, and they have differing expectations. There are enemies of the psalmist, and they expect disaster (vs. 10-11). They know that God has helped him in the past, but they don't expect that to happen this time. They believe God has forsaken him and that he is left without help.

The psalmist knows better. God has always been faithful. God has always delivered. This man's confidence is still placed in God with an expectation of help from Him. Why is he so confident? It is because he is focused on the predictability of God (otherwise known as His faithfulness). If this man had his life on video, he could start at the beginning and watch the events of his life. In the first difficulty, he would see God deliver. He could fast forward to the next difficulty and see God deliver. Fast forward to the next problem - same result. As the author pauses to consider each obstacle in succession, he sees the repeated pattern of God's intervention.

Is there any doubt about what God will do now? No, the psalmist is so confident of God's help that he not only vows to praise God for the deliverance, but he praises God before it even happens. Like the psalmist, we can trust in our faithful God. Like him, we should also be ready to declare to others our confidence in God, whether or not we see the deliverance yet. God is faithful.

"You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again, and will bring me up again from the depths of the earth." Psalm 71:20 (NASB)