A God You Can Trust

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, LORD. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.

Psalm 89:15-17

One of the marvelous things about reading the Bible is that throughout its pages we are given hundreds of snapshots of who God is and what his character and nature are like. His Word declares that God is gracious and compassionate, holy and awesome. He is our shelter in the storm. He is the Lord who provides and forgives and the one who gives us inner peace regardless of our circumstances.

In today’s verses, we learn that God is righteous, that he is our source of strength, and that any power or influence we have comes from his favor. How kind of God that he didn’t hide his nature or didn’t leave us alone to figure out what he is like or didn’t intend for us to take the opinions of CNN or our culture about who he is. This is of crucial importance because you will not trust a God you do not know.

God reveals himself throughout his Word because he wants us to know him, not just about him and what others say he’s like. Discovering God’s reputation as revealed in his interaction with men and nations throughout history is important, but he wants us to hear his voice speaking to us through the Scriptures, lighting our paths through daily life. We will never fully know God’s greatness until we see him face-to-face, but when we read his Word, we discover more of who he is and are drawn closer to him. Just think: the infinite, almighty God, maker of heaven and earth, wants us to live in intimate relationship with him. This news will cause us to hear the joyful call to worship and rejoice in the Lord daily.

Oh God, how gracious you are to reveal yourself to us through your Word, through Jesus, and through your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the gift of salvation, which allows us to walk with you and talk with you every day we live.

Only God is permanently interesting. Other things we may fathom, but he out-tops our thought and can neither be demonstrated nor argued down.

Joseph Fort Newton(1880–1950), American pastor and author