I was reading through 2 Samuel the other day when I stumbled upon something pretty amazing. I found that the passage looked strangely familiar. I started to speculate that David wrote two Psalms that are nearly identical. Then I flipped through a few more chapters in my Bible and realized that they were identical. The words recorded in 2 Samuel 22 are the same words that are penned in Psalm 18. I didn’t realize that until just the other day.

God wouldn’t put something in the Bible twice for no reason, so I think it’s safe to assume that this is a picture He really wants us to understand. Maybe you should read it for yourself because you might see something other than what I do, but for me, all I see when I read this chapter is an eagle.

One time, when I was walking through a really difficult circumstance in my life, I had this reoccurring vision (that felt like a nightmare when I was wide awake) about a whirlpool and an eagle. I was drowning in the whirlpool, but trying to grab hold of this eagle that was soaring above the waves. The vision made absolutely no sense… until I stumbled upon Psalm 18. This particular Psalm talks about God being a refuge when the floods of destruction are sweeping over you. As I read this Psalm, I remembered my whirlpool, then I read the words, “he soared on the wings of the wind.” I don’t know that I’ve ever had a passage of Scripture take my breath away like that verse did.  The eagle in the vision that I kept reaching out for was Jesus. That one passage of Scripture that is repeated twice in the Bible told me the end of my vision:

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
       he drew me out of deep waters.” -Psalm 18:16

And suddenly there was a safety from the storm that was raging around me. I suddenly felt myself being lifted from this pit of despair. I found freedom in that verse.

God wrote it twice because He wanted His children to see it. He wrote it twice so that I’m twice as likely to be reminded. He wrote it twice so that I’m half as likely to forget. What is He saying twice to you?