by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Knowing the Name of God

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:10 English Standard Version

It has been nearly fifty years since I’ve been salmon fishing off the Oregon coast. I worked for a farmer who moored a fishing boat in Florence, Oregon and once a year he took his crew fishing. I’ve been in waters where the swells were deep and where they were as calm as lake on windless day.

I have a feeling that some of these boats, docked at Garibaldi, Oregon, were named because of experiences on the ocean. Others have been named for important people or places. Each boat has a unique name, a unique look, a unique character. No two boats are the same.

Some of us know why our parents gave us our name. Being the last of four children, I’m the only child who didn’t receive a name of some other family member. I was named after an actor and singer. Whatever our name, people know us by more than name itself, but by how we live under that name.

God’s name says something about himself. He has revealed himself to us as Yahweh, the Great I Am. God has always been, still is, and will forever remain. Though his name tells us about his character, it also reveals to us that he is beyond our understanding. He is the God who created us. He is the God who redeemed us. He is the God who makes us holy. Each one of these statements takes us deeper into the mystery of God. Each one raises more questions than the Bible answers.

And that is the way it should be. He is God, we are not.

God calls us today to trust his name, and in trusting in his name we know that he will never forsake us, not in life and not in death. Jesus’ cross is our guarantee.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado