My Journal and Diary
2022
July
Saturday, July 16th, 2022
Survival of the Weakest
It takes a special kind of strength to admit weakness. If you're like me, you're not especially proud of being weak. I make great efforts to disguise the fact that I often don't know what I'm doing. I don't want others to see that I may not be able to accomplish the things I suppose other men can easily do.
Perhaps we can all relate to this. It's like we're programmed to fake it until we make it. Survival of the fittest, not the weakest, right? So let's get fit, project our own confidence, and let the world know, "we've got this."
But is that even true? Can we REALLY stand on our own? We actually need one another, right? We actually need God, too.
In today's scripture-song, the anonymous writer of Psalm 71 lays out his shortcomings for all to see. He confesses to God all the ways he needs refuge, where he needs help, how he needs deliverance, to be rescued, to be revived... He mentions these words 15 separate times.
Perhaps it's his perspective as an old man that allows him to be so vulnerable. When you're old, I suppose you get used to asking for help, accustomed to your own limitations. Must we be senior citizens to understand? God is the one who will deliver us from trouble! He will rescue us from our selfishness, our brokenness, and our self-destructive tendencies!
We can endure the difficult times of fear and waiting by worshipping the One who saves! The last ten verses of this scripture describe all the ways the psalmist will praise and glorify God! He doesn't wait until he has overcome these challenges; rather, he uses faith and experience to get on that praise-routine right away! He uses his memory of God's faithfulness since he was a baby, as a basis for his hope!
Let's use this as a template for our own response. You will encounter difficulties and struggles, so how will you respond?
Let us respond with faith.
Amen.