“O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.” (Psalm 71:5)

Two words stand out in this verse. They are hope and confidence. Not words that are usually linked together. That in itself makes it an interesting verse. Besides the odd combination, there is also the information that this Psalm was written by an old man.

Perhaps the point here is that when we are young we view confidence and hope as to separate things. This elderly Psalmist may have felt that in his youth as well but something happened over the years that changed his mind. He put his hope in God and God came through. Again and again, God kept his promises. Soon the one who hoped gained confidence in God. He experienced things that proved to him that it was a good thing to hope in God because God could be counted on.

We all know what it’s like to hope that things will come to past only to find that they don’t because someone let us down. We may say, “I’m counting on you,” and then follow up with “I counted on you and you let me down.” We will certainly be hesitant to put much hope in that person again, will we? No, when we put our hope in men and they let us down we tend to back off. Instead of hope, we want evidence in advance.

The Psalmist came to the place where he needed no evidence. He had experienced enough to know that when he needed help he could put his hope in God with confidence. He started early, in his youth, and now in his old age, he sees the true picture of God. 

God keeps his promises, that is why he can be hoped on with confidence. God loves us and because he does he gives us good gifts. He is the loving Father and knows how to do that. We can put our hope in him with the greatest of confidence, knowing that he will deliver us. In this same psalm, the writer says, “For You are my rock and my fortress.” God is our salvation and our hope of eternity is bound in his promise. No one can harm our souls while we are hidden in the rock and kept in the fortress. Our hope is in Him and he will deliver us to his home.

Task for Today: Be honest and ask this question, “Where is my hope?” Then follow that up with another question, “Am I confident in that hope?” If your hope is in God then your answer should be yes. Give God a chance to prove that he is trustworthy. Like the ancient Psalmist, you will find that you can put all your hopes in God and do so with every confidence.