I was born into a Christian culture, so I can easily relate to this verse; however, that is not the case for many, creating a disconnect from this verse. Then again, that is only the case if we take this as a statement of the psalmist’s awareness rather than of God’s character. What if this is not a declaration of what the psalmist has believed since he was young, but rather who God was… whether he perceived it or not?

The next verse supports this: “From birth I have relied on you.” The brains of newborns are nowhere near developed enough to grasp this level of theology, so it seems unlikely the reliance mentioned was a conscious choice. This could be a situation of the soul perceiving what the mind could not, but either way that leaves the psalmist mentally unaware that God was his hope and confidence for a period of time.

This actually makes the verse relevant for all of us. Whether you came to understand God as a toddler or discovered Him as an adult, His presence as our hope and confidence is not contingent on our awareness; He has been both since our youth, and at some point we will recognize it.

If God can be our hope even when we as babies can’t grasp it, perhaps He remains our hope today in our hardships even when we struggle to believe it; Him being our hope and confidence is not contingent on our awareness.