You ever been stuck?  I don’t mean physically but emotionally?  There’s an expression that refers to being “between
a rock and a hard place.”  When I was a
little kid, I remember asking my mom what that means.  She tried to explain it to me but I just
couldn’t get it.  Eventually she
summarized her explanation by saying, “when you’re there, you’ll understand.”

 

Boy…was she right.  There are moments when life seems to close in
like a noose and you don’t know which direction to go and on one side is a rock
and on another is a hard place.  Squeezed
between these two unmovable forces, time spent with the Lord teaches us to look
up.

 

In this section of Psalm 71
today, we hear the voice of experience reminding us of the lessons of looking
back to move forward.

 

5 For
you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.

6 From
birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.

I will ever praise you. 7 I
have become a sign to many; you are my strong refuge.

8 My
mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

Psalm 71:5-8

 

When we look back over the
course of our lives, we will see the Lord’s great provision for us.  It’s when we review the past we see, like the
Psalmist, He has “been my hope, Sovereign Lord” (verse 5). 
Indeed, even our lives are a result of His plan and purpose and we
praise Him because we understand our lives are in His hands. 

 

I think it’s really
important to remember those times because when we’re going through the valley,
it sometimes doesn’t feel like He’s there. 
Yet He is.  Quietly, calmly,
assuredly working in the background of our lives because “we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, what have
been called according to his purpose”
(Romans 8:28).

 

When we look back and count our blessings, we
remind ourselves of the Lord’s faithfulness. 
Like Samuel in 1 Samuel 7:12, we must set up an Ebenezer because
the Lord is our “stone of help.”  These
markers dot our past and remind us when the Lord has shown up and rescued us.

 

From conception through birth, the Lord is there.  From birth through adulthood, the Lord is
there.  Even in advancing years, we do
not abandon the Lord because He has not abandoned us.  Do you understand, dear Christian, our lives
are an Ebenezer to the world around us?  
Verse 7 tells us “I have become a sign to many; you are my strong
refuge.”  When the
world sees our lives, do they see evidence of the Lord?

 

Whether good times or bad,
lean times or fat, moments of glory or moments of disgrace, our lives rest in
the Solid Rock of our Lord and Savior. 
And our lives can provide a sign to others of the reality,
responsiveness, and righteousness of our God.

 

Verse 1

On Christ the solid Rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

Great is Your faithfulness

Great is Your love oh God

 

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness

Great is Your faithfulness

Great is Your love oh God

 

Verse 2

When darkness seems to hide Your face

I rest on Your unchanging grace

Great is Your faithfulness

Great is Your love oh God

 

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

Great is Your faithfulness

Great is Your love oh God

 

Chorus

Rock of ages You will stand

Our foundation ’til the end

Never failing God unchanging

Rock of ages You will stand

“Rock of Ages You Will
Stand”

Brenton Brown | Paul
Baloche

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