Psalm 9:9-10

9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name trust in you,

for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

One thing that these verses in Psalm 9 tells us is that God is our trustworthy refuge. He is our stronghold in times of trouble. David here is certain that God is our stronghold and refuge. Why? Because prior to verse 9, he recounted all the wonderful deeds that God had done. David encountered many enemies and faced dangers in the past, and God has been his refuge whom he can confidently and completely trust for protection, security, safety, and deliverance (Psalm 54:4,7).

In this life and in this world, one thing is certain: trouble will come. There will be hardships and sufferings like what we're experiencing now with the pandemic and its effects in our personal lives and the economy as a whole. But one unshakeable truth that we must hold on to is that God is our trustworthy refuge in times of trouble.

And David, in verse 10 of Psalm 9, further tells us that we, who truly know God, put our trust in Him. In times of trouble, suffering, or hardships, we should put our wholehearted trust in God. What made David so confident in trusting God is that because he knows who God is. David knows that God is faithful and that God is a covenant-keeping God, and we can be assured that if we seek the Lord with all our hearts we will not be forsaken by Him (Deuteronomy 4:29, 2 Chronicles 15:4, Jeremiah 29:13).

In times of trouble, are you putting your wholehearted trust in God? Or are you putting your trust in all the wrong places so that God is your last resort? Are you finding it hard to put your complete trust in God?

Let us learn three things from David here:

1. The more we know God, the more we put our trust in Him. David trusted God because he personally knew God.

2. The more we trust God, the more we seek Him. Read through the psalms of David and you'll see why he didn't stop in trusting God and seeking Him. In times of danger, he sought God, he cried out to God, and he called upon the name of the Lord.

3. God will never leave us nor forsake us if we seek Him wholeheartedly.

Matthew Henry said in his commentary, "Those who know him to be a God of inviolable truth and faithfulness will rejoice in his word of promise, and rest upon that, though the performance be deferred and intermediate providences seem to contradict it. Those who know him to be the Father of spirits, and an everlasting Father, will trust him with their souls as their main care and trust in him at all times, even to the end."

Let us resolve to know God more in His word and be reminded of His faithfulness and continuously seek Him with our whole heart so that our trust and faith in Him won't waiver, but instead grow stronger.