Joseph Kennedy once said, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That pithy statement apparently was one man’s antidote for despair. Sooner or later, that hopeless feeling comes to many of us. It certainly came to King David. Some of it stemmed from his role as king of ancient Israel. He had to deal with people who did not want him to be king. His enemies would plot, deceive, and try to bring him down. But David knew where to turn when the going got tough. He turned to God. Several of the psalms he wrote reflect his confidence that God would bring him through. Psalm 71 is just one of many. In it, he says he is praying to God for several reasons: he knows God will listen, God is just, and God is able to protect him. He regards God is a rock of safety where he can always hide. He asks God to rescue him from the power of the wicked and from the clutches of cruel oppressors. He affirms that God alone is his hope. He based his confidence on his experience of having trusted God from birth. Because God had helped him in the past, he can rely on God in the present. That kind of confidence in the face of difficulties is not limited to David. Any person in a close relationship with God can have similar confidence. Such a relationship comes by faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ welcomes all who turn from sin and come to Him.
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