Miracles Are More Common Than We Think

“I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” (Ps 71:7 AV)

The first half of the verse has given writers fits.  What makes it difficult is the first word of the second half.  It becomes even more difficult if all the student does is look at Hebrew definitions for a single word.  The word ‘wonder’ means a miracle.  Therefore, when one thinks about this verse, the writer is comparing a miracle of God against God being his refuge.  This, on the face of it, makes no sense.  Why would the writer be considered a miracle yet, on the other hand, claim God as his refuge?  If the miracle is indeed a miracle, what need is there for a continuing refuge? What we are missing is the context and a point of observation.  The prior verse speaks of the writer’s birth.  In particular, how the hand of God guided the entire process so that he was born safe and sound.  The verse following is a request of David that the LORD would be his help in the elderly stages of his life.  What may be a possibility is the one, or ones, that see David as a wonder are those familiar with his birth.  Could it be his mother bore him under very difficult circumstances and it was said of David that his birth was a miracle?  David gives God the credit.  He does so in verse six.  He then does so in verse seven in comparison with what everyone is saying regarding his birth.  He is a wonder and shouldn’t be.  Then he asks for God’s protection and strength until his last dying breath.  What I think is going on here is David is correcting, or offering further light, on his miracle birth.  He does so in the context of requesting God’s faithfulness unto death.

It is easy to forget just how much God is involved in our very existence.  The fact we exist at all is a miracle.  When we consider how many different variations we could have been, it is astounding to think that we are who we are.  If we were to stop and think of how many times we have had a brush with death yet lived to tell about it, it would boggle the mind.  If we stopped and meditated on all that we have and how we came to enjoy it, we would be dumbfounded.  To say this all happened naturally is a fool’s answer.  But just as foolish is forgetting from whence cometh our help or assuming His grace ends at some point.  It is the premise of God’s past mercies which are the foundation for continued grace as he ages.  Those who see his life see it as a miracle.  All that he is and has should not be.  David faced death more times than the average man.  He faced down lions, bears, and giants.  He evaded the sword of his sworn enemy for almost a decade.  He fought battles to free Israel and overcame insurrection from his own son.  Many times over David’s life could have ended.  Yet, God brought him through it all.  It is because of this faithfulness that David can count on God’s continued faithfulness.

The word for ‘wonder’ is a miracle.  We do not stop long enough to consider just how many miracles have come our way.  This is the point.  David stated that God is his refuge.  In the context of miracles, David states it is God who did all that and not him.  He is able, then to count on continued miracles because that has been God’s pattern throughout his life.  Why would God stop now?  If God has done all that He has done, why do with think He would act out of character and take a different tact?  If the LORD has brought you this far with wonders that others can see, why is it we think He will not continue in the same?  The Bible tells us His mercies are new every morning.  Every day we awaken is a miracle.  Every breath we take is a wonder.  Every answered prayer is a miracle.  Every meal we eat, every safe night we sleep, and every soul to whom we minister is a testament to a gracious God who tirelessly works for us so that we might serve Him with humility, gratitude, and fear.  Every moment of every day is proof that miracles continue.  Therefore, to ask them to continue is not a pipe dream.  It is not wishful thinking.  It is not a pie-in-the-sky request.  It is a request in faith based on God’s past actions.  There are miracles to be had every day of our pilgrimage.  All we need to do is ask in faith, nothing wavering.