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Aug 03, 2024 06:00am

On Repeat

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This year, I am attempting to reach a goal I have only done one other time in my life. I am attempting to read through the Bible in a year. The only other time I have done this was when our youngest child was born. Admittedly, I did not meditate on what I was reading or study it like I would have preferred, but read when I could and listened to the audio version on my Bible app any time I was nursing, washing bottles, folding mounds of laundry, or any other task that allowed me to be still for any reasonable amount of time. Some of those times I might have been drifting in and out of awareness, but I wanted to use those rare moments to fill my heart with God’s Word.

Being our third newborn, I knew there would be plenty of “empty” moments I could fill with meaningless tv binges or worried thoughts. So, I intentionally chose to fill those times with the Goodness of God’s Word, whether I was fully conscious or wavering between asleep and awake moments.

This time around, I chose to read through the Bible with a group of women, all using the same version, and utilizing resources to dig more deeply with each chunk of passages. The accountability and the resources have allowed such a deep experience. I am usually fully awake and conscious of what I read, so that, in itself, is an improvement from my first go-round.

We have hit the book of Psalm now, and I am reading with new eyes. The additional resources recently asked me to look back at Psalm 107 and recognize repetitive phrases. As I read through, the Psalm took new meaning. The verses 6, 13, 19, and 28 all repeat, “‘Lord, help!,” they cried in their trouble, and He rescued them from their distress.” Also, there was a repeated phrase in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31. It repeated, “Let them praise the Lord for His great love and for the wonderful things He has done for them.”

This got my spirit curious, so I decided to look at the Scripture surrounding these repeated phrases. What took the writer from asking for help and enduring distress to praising Him for the wonderful things He had done? And, what kind of distress was falling between each section?

Before verse 6, the Scripture refers to some who wandered the wilderness, lost and homeless, hungry, thirsty, nearing death. They cry out to God in verse 6, and after that, He led them straight to safety, to a place they could call home. They praised Him in verse 8, and then verse 9 tells us that God satisfied their hunger and thirst.

Before verse 13, we read about some who sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in misery. They were rebelling against the Word of God and were scorning His counsel. They were broken with hard labor and had no one to help them up when they fell. They cried out to Him for help in verse 13, and we see how God led them from their darkness and gloom and broke their chains of misery. They praise God in verse 15, and verse 16 says He set them free from their bondage.

Before verse 19, we read how some were fools who rebelled and suffered for their sin. They couldn’t eat and were knocking on death’s door. They cried out for help in verse 19, and we see in the following verses that He sent out His Word and healed them, saving them from death. They praise Him in verse 21. This time, the verse that follows gives instruction to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and to sing joyfully about His glorious acts.

One might think the people had figured out that God was in control and stopped turning away from Him. Still, we see verses surrounding verse 28 that tell us that they were not all obedient. Some went to sea…but they saw God’s power on display as they observed the winds rising at His word, stirring up the waves. They saw His impressive works, as their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged to the depths of the sea. These sailors cringed in terror, reeled and staggered like drunkards, finding themselves at their wits’ end. They cried out to God in verse 28, and we see that God calmed the storm to a whisper and made the waves still. He brought them safely into harbor. They praised Him in verse 31, and the Scripture that follows encourages these sailors to exalt God publicly before all, those in the congregation all the way to the leaders of the nation. The next few verses continue to speak of God’s power.

As I analyzed these repeated phrases, it hit me in the face that this sounds a lot like my life. I experience hard times, I cry out in my distress, God works out all of it for my good and His glory, and I praise Him. Then I seem to either find myself thrown into another storm, or I find myself putting myself in a position that is difficult because of my own rebellion. The cycle continues. I suppose it will continue to be that way on this side of heaven. I am a sinner, saved by God’s grace. I believe God uses these repeated experiences to bring sanctification, and that will have to repeat. I will not complete that process completely in my lifetime. I think it is important that I get to those repeated phrases of asking God for help and to the part where I recognize His power and sovereignty in each cycle and praise Him more quickly each time, though.

I journal often, and I can look back and see Psalm 107 and the repetitious cycles in my story, too. So, I praise God for His great love and the wonderful things He has done for me. I will praise Him and will exalt God publicly before all whenever given an opportunity!