Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;
you have given the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Psalm 71.3
There is another helpful word in this verse: 'continually'. In this the psalmist shows his wisdom, his understanding of life. He appeals to his God. He asks that his God provide refuge. But he knows that it's not just a matter of the problem currently facing him. There will be other times when he is confronted with some issue too large for him to handle. (Are there any problems that we can handle on our own?) And so, he asks that he would be able to flee to this strong refuge 'continually'.
This is a note of realism that we need to embrace. The psalmist knows that life is and will be filled with problems, and he prays appropriately. We need to do the same. We need to understand the nature of life in our very broken world. Some will hear this as pessimism. 'Life is always dark.' By no means! Life for a Christian is a life of joy. But that does not mean that it is a life without problems. We can rejoice, and do that enthusiastically, even in the midst of problems. And we can do that because, for one thing, we are not surprised when troubles come. It is part of a faithful Christian life. We can do that because we also know that our God is a rock of refuge to whom we may continually come. He provides the strength and endurance we need. And He never tires of doing that. We rejoice in what He does for us and how He will use our latest problem for much good. And He rejoices that we come to Him continually.