In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me. Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you. (Psa. 71:1–6 NRSV)
The first six verses of Psalm 71 remind me of Job. The psalmist is apparently in some kind of trouble. “Rescue me,” he says, “from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.” It’s a plea for God to intervene and save, even as the psalmist confesses hope and trust in God. Even in the midst of difficult circumstances, the psalmist won’t let go of God. Even as his enemies bear down on him, the psalmist continues to take refuge in the fortress that is his God.
What do we do in hard times? It’s in the hard times of life that we really show our colors. Do we, like the psalmist continue to hang on to God? Do we continue to put our faith and hope in God, even as the world around us seems to be caving in? Perhaps you know someone who has faith like the psalmist. Such people never seem to get a break, still they do not let go of their rock. How can we learn from their models of faith? How can we, like the psalmist choose to hang on to God even in worst circumstances?