The pastor of my home church asked me to fill in for him for the two Tuesday Bible Studies for his Charge while he was out of town. I used the July 10th, 2024 devotional reading, from The Upper Room Daily Devotional along with their provided discussion guide questions for our study.
In addition to that resource, I also included some of my own thoughts and observations on the Scripture text, Psalm 71. I share those here and now with you:
Repetition of Word “Again” (Verses 20-21)
• “Revive me again”
• “Bring me up again”
• “Increase my Honor and Comfort me once again”
In our ailments, pains, and distresses it’s very easy to fall into the trap of only seeing the present troubles and infirmities. This Psalm reminds us to take time to remember and recall God’s faithfulness and deliverance in times past. Don’t be afraid to ask and pray to God a simple prayer requesting “Again.” That one-word prayer can express a lot. It tells God you remember the past help and past answered prayers supplied in your earlier years. It also offers a simple plea for God to do it again. This one word prayer expresses: Gratitude / Thankfulness / Praise / Request.
Psalm 71 encompasses our whole life and its stages along the way.
• Verse 6 – “Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.”
• Verse 17 – “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.”
• Verse 9 – “Do not cast me off in time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent.”
• Verse 18 – “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.”
While there is a personal prayer of remembrance and plea embedded in this Psalm, verse 18 reminds us that our faith and our testimony is not just to be used in our personal lives and trials. We are reminded that to be beloved and called by God is a call into a community and to outreach to others. We are “to proclaim (God’s) might to all the generations to come.”
We often like to celebrate, highlight, encourage, and fund the contributions of Youth and the excitement and exuberance they bring to a church community. Yet, we must never do so at the expense of what older members can contribute as well. First, and foremost, their wisdom from lived experience. Secondly, the reminder and example that with God strength and renewal is possible at all ages.
Notes from a Book Nerd 