Psalm 71:17-23
Do It Again, God

O God, from my youth you have taught me,
	and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
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.
Your power and your righteousness, O God,
	reach the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
	O God, who is like you?
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
	will revive me again;
From the depths of the earth
	you will bring me up again.
You will increase my honor,
	and comfort me once again.
I will also praise you with the harp
	for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
	O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy
	when I sing praises to you;
	my soul also, which you have rescued.

New Revised Standard Version

One of my memories of raising a preschooler was how she never seemed to be bored with repetition. She watched her favorite animated movie so often, she could recite the first ten minutes of dialog. She literally wore out her favorite cassette of children's songs twice. When I tried some new experience with her, I would hope for her affirmation in the request, "Do it again, Daddy!" At the same time, I would also hope she would stop after only a dozen such requests, before I became hopelessly bored with the activity!

I'm not sure when she outgrew her love for repetition, but it is an inevitable part of coming of age in our society. Part of it is a learned impatience, urging us to pursue something "new." Another part of it is an embarrassment we learn, causing us to take into account the possibility that the person of whom we're making the request might not want to do it again or explain it again; we also don't want to admit that we might need to hear it again, or need to be helped again, or be otherwise incapable of taking care of ourselves. Just like I used to tire of pushing the swing for my daughter after thirty minutes or so, we come to expect that there are limits to others' patience.

We too often feel the same way about God. We want to grow and develop as Christians, and we assume that as we mature, we will become less reliant on God. In one sense, it is true that God doesn't want us living in the same sins year after year. Paul chastised the church in Corinth for still subsisting on spiritual "milk," instead of growing out of infancy in their hunger for God's truth and stepping up to solid "food." However, Paul also tells us that as we mature as Christians, we rely more on God, not less. Mature Christians spend more time in prayer, trust God more for guidance, and show less independence and more willingness to follow God's Way. These characteristics are the opposite of what we learn as children about "growing up," so this lesson of growing in our faith is one we need to keep learning over and over.

The psalmist who wrote Psalm 71 still struggled with relying on God, but he had learned over the years that his only sure salvation would be with God. When enemies were closing in to destroy him, God would save him. When sickness would come, God would heal him. When decisions were overwhelming, God would provide the answer. Even though he had asked many times before, even though he was old and gray, he still prayed with confidence, and he knew God would respond. By this time, the psalmist had learned that God's answers were certain, but often not what he expected. With this wisdom from experience, he didn't pray for specifics of what God would do, but rejoiced in confidence that God would provide.

God wants us to do the same. Even when we find ourselves in the same problems and calamities again, God wants us to call for guidance and rescue, and to call sooner than later! Even when we make the same sins over and over, God wants us to repent again and change our ways again. Even when we are depressed and discouraged by the same problems that don't seem to go away, God wants us to hold firmly to our faith and let God provide the way over and over again.

Paul provided us with a reminder in how God works in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul wrote that he had received an undefined "thorn in the flesh," and that he had prayed repeatedly to God to remove this disability. Instead, we read God's answer in verse 9: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Paul found reason to celebrate over his infirmity, because it caused him to rely more on God.

God, we ask you to move again in our lives. You know where we are still weak, and though we want to hide in shame, we want more for you to work in our weakness. Heal us again, God. Direct us again, teach us again, touch us and calm us again, God, that we would grow to trust You more in every situation and with every part of our being. Amen.