“And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” Psalm 9:10
Can we really learn to trust God in every situation? According to the Bible—yes! That’s why it’s important to understand how the names of God reveal His nature. While God is infinite, He is not distant. So even though we can’t fully grasp all there is to know about Him, He wants to teach us everything we can possibly comprehend. Because the better we know the Lord the more we trust Him.
For example, when we understand that God has infinite wisdom, we trust Him further than we can feel Him. When we recognize that God is all-powerful, we trust Him when circumstances are more difficult than our ability to handle them. Knowing that God is good gives believers faith to trust Him in persecution, even to the death. And the more we trust God, the more we seek Him.
We see this in the life of David throughout the Psalms. We can even tell why David was seeking the Lord by the names he chose to use. Names such as Refuge, Rock, Strong Tower, and Helper reveal aspects of God’s character David had come to trust. He didn’t seek God with blind faith but in belief—belief built upon the nature behind the name. He trusted the Lord with his present because he had personally experienced the Lord’s character in the past.
Finally, the more we seek God the more we realize His faithfulness. God does not abandon His people. That’s why the apostle Paul said, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
We all face adversity simply because we live in a fallen world. We can trust God to be our Shelter and our Shield. He is our Deliverer from sin’s penalty and power. He is our Resurrection so that death itself cannot separate us from His great name.
In what situation do you need to trust the Lord right now? Seek His character in His Word. Write down the names of God that reveal His ability to be faithful in that situation. Then trust the nature behind the name. “Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the name of God”–Charles Haddon Spurgeon.