Do you enjoy God? We’ve talked a lot about God enjoying us, but do we enjoy him?
The idea of the Thanksgiving holiday has always been a favorite. In theory, we have a whole day to just reflect on all God has done for us; even if it doesn’t actually work out that way, it’s a lovely thought. Today, let’s take a slight turn and think about God himself. Thinking back over the names of God we have read so far, we have a full list already- and we have barely scratched the surface of who our God is!
YAHWEH, the God of the ages, who sees and hears Elohim, the God of gods, the Might One Adonai, our present provider Refuge and Fortress Father, giver of attention and love.
Instead of looking at another name today, I just want to consider God himself. The Westminster shorter catechism asks “What is the chief end of man, ” and answers, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Today, let’s enjoy God together.
Here are some of the attributes of God that touch me the most. What would you add? I’d love to hear.
God is .... beautiful kind just patient funny loving committed creative present
I can tell you about the birthmarks of each one of my four children. I know their eye color, tones of voice when upset, and what is likely to make them upset. I love to watch them, to be with them, and to hear about anything they are involved in. But you know what don’t know? I don’t know how many hairs are on their heads. Do you know the number of hairs on your kids’ heads? I’m guessing you don’t; we just don’t pay that much attention.
But Jesus says that God knows. Isn’t that crazy? God has spent so much attention on me and on you that he could tell you the number of hairs on your head- which changes every day, by the way. That tells me he knows me and loves me to a depth that I have never experienced, either as the lover or the loved.
Today, my friends, is another invitation to rest in God. Calling God “Father” isn’t new or revelatory, so today’s invitation is not either. But it can be a deeply necessary balm to our souls any time of year; in this season when everything feels just a little (or maybe a lot) more intense, do you think you can take a minute to contemplate what God means when he calls himself your “Father?”
My four children share some combination of two sets of DNA. But no one reading this is surprised to hear me say they are all very, very different from one another. Even if they share a particular trait that they inherited from me, it looks different on each of them. And I love that, so I parent them differently and they respond to me differently.
When you read the scriptures below, open your heart and mind to how you need God to be your Father. How is he trying to comfort, love, guide, strengthen you? God, in his love for us, has made himself shockingly vulnerable to us (especially look for this in Jeremiah 3. Let’s allow his vulnerability to become our strength.
I am including just a small selection of times God has called himself Father in the scriptures below. What you need from God today is likely to be different from what I need, but in his unchanging love he is Father to each of us.
Deuteronomy 32:1-6 Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say! Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew. Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God! He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely, are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation. 6Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?
Psalm 68:4-6 Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the Lord— rejoice in his presence! Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Jeremiah 3:19-22 “I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me. But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.” Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God. “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.
Romans 8:14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Galatians 4:1-7 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Psalm 103:13 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
Well friends, we’re in it now. When we started talking about the holiday stress and hecticity (made-up word ? maybe) it seemed too early. But we turned our back for a minute and now we are staring down the barrel at Thanksgiving. And maybe you, like me, have a huge project or two layered on top of all the usual crazy.
I don’t know about you, but I need that light God promised (“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light, Is 9:2). I can feel my shoulders tensing, my attitude slipping, the pressure mounting. Perfect timing for this name of God- my Refuge and Fortress.
This one is actually used in a wide variety of ways, but three of them really stand out to me. The first is a lot to think about but not the one I need the most right now. It’s the idea of a fortress- the huge, well-defended structure we can run to when threatened. I imagine a family on the frontier whose home has been attacked. They were able to get away, but they have been running for days to reach the fort that will shelter them. They get a meal, a bath, their wounds are tended. It’s a beautiful picture of God, but this is not a season of retreating behind strong walls.
The second is the cave that sheltered David while he was on the run from Saul. While in the wilderness, still in flight from the king he served faithfully, David finds a cave that provides a refuge, even if just for the night. Isn’t this more like the season we are in? We have to live this season- we GET to live this season, but every day we need the shelter of God’s presence. Right in the middle of our crazy, we need to stop, take a deep breath, remember God is with us.
The third use of the term “Refuge and Fortress” carries the idea of a shield and- new word- buckler. A shield was usually big, carried with one arm and held in front to protect the body. A buckler is smaller, and would be worn like a bullet-proof vest, buckled around the vital organs. It provided protection while still engaged in battle. Does that sound like something you need? It does to me.
This last idea- of God going with me into the crazy of my day- this is one I think I have missed too much. If my day feels crazy that does not always mean I am doing it wrong or that God is not with me. It might just mean it’s a busy time. If my life feels lonely or isolated it doesn’t mean I am alone. It might just be my current circumstances.
It is an emotional time of year. Depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, worry….all are heightened at this time of year. Wherever you and I find ourselves on the emotional spectrum, God, our refuge and fortress, is here with us. We can – and should- be refreshed and comforted by spending a few minutes (or seconds if that’s all you have) quietly resting in his presence, reading the scriptures below that bring the truth of his presence to the forefront of our minds. But when we leave our quiet moment, we do not leave God behind and he does not leave us alone. Let’s rejoice in this light together!
Deuteronomy 33:26-29 There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides across the heavens to help you, across the skies in majestic splendor. The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you. He drives out the enemy before you; he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’ So Israel will live in safety, prosperous Jacob in security, in a land of grain and new wine, while the heavens drop down dew. How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people saved by the LORD ? He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword!
2 Samuel 22:1-4 David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul. He sang: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 I love you, LORD ; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.
Psalm 71:1-8 O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors. O Lord, you alone are my hope. I’ve trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother’s womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you! My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.
Isaiah 25:1-5 O LORD, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will fear you. But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O LORD, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall, or like the relentless heat of the desert. But you silence the roar of foreign nations. As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat, so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.
Nothing feels more real than the Tuesday morning after a three day weekend, don’t you agree? The alarm feels more painful, the misplaced-yet-urgently-needed thingamabobs are more distressing, the moods are grumpier. Ugh. Welcome back to the real world.
Lately I’ve been questioning what we mean by “real world” though. Everything we see and feel and experience is just so immediate and urgent, but is all this really real?
Think about those moments of sudden clarity that we all have had. The teacher announces a pop test. Your child calls to say “I’ve made a mistake.” The cop turns his sirens on behind you. The biopsy is positive. All of a sudden you realize what is real- at least in this little corner of your world. Why can’t we live there all the time? Why does it take a cop’s siren to get me realize I was speeding, or a positive biopsy to appreciate my health?
As we have spent the last few weeks focusing on who God is, I feel his nearness in a new, more real way, and the concept of “real world” continues to shift. It doesn’t have to take bad news for us to realize the truth. There is a dimension- unseen but among us- in which God dwells. I think about the way I felt as a child when I was home in my room but Mom was cooking dinner just on the other side of the door. Nearby, though out of sight .
So this morning as we rush around dealing with all the little emergencies of the day, there is something else very real happening at the same time. Isaiah had a vision of what it’s like.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robefilled the temple. Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; all the earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-5)
Whatever I am dealing with, whatever I am feeling at any particular moment. In that moment, there are also creatures declaring the goodness of God. In that moment, the earth is still full of his glory. In that moment, I am his and he is mine. I can just turn, and he is there. And that is real.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
That’s just not true, unless you are the rare individual who recognizes and responds to every moment in an ultra insightful way. For most of us, our weeks are full of family dinners, carpooling, diapers, appointments for work, and conversations with friends that are slowly building something holy and beautiful though they seem mundane at the time.
Much like the mundane yet practical, daily interactions with friends and family build strong relationships, the practical, daily presence of God in our lives builds a strong faith. But do we see it?
This week, I would like you to contemplate with me a name of God that is actually a title. In the time the name “Adonai” was written into the text of scripture, humans would have also been given this title- much like Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey.
Used for the one true God, the Hebrews would have been speaking of Adonai as one who is owner, ruler, provider. One with power and responsibility. A practical, daily presence.
When you look back on the moments of your week, do you see God in any of them? The moments when we don’t see God- those moments our eyes are closed or our faith is silent, but they are not moments when God is absent. Our God is a practical, daily presence. Our provider in mundane moments, as well as the moments that take our breath away.
This week, we rejoice in Adonai, our present provider.
Psalm 8 O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. O LORD, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Psalm 109:21 But you, O GOD my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Deuteronomy 10:17-21 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth–as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”– yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
If you listen, or if you look, or if you pause all activity, you will often feel it. It is a longing, an ache deep in our souls. Deeper than sound or sight, it draws you… but where does it draw you?
It feels like it draws down, or inward, so we often fail to recognize that our deepest longings draw us to God.
After all, God is “up there” in the heavens. So we look within ourselves, or we try to answer the longing with activities and projects.
But if we think about the idea of the “heavens” being a different dimension of the space we occupy, this longing that draws us deeper makes more sense. God’s presence in “the heavens” is not way high above us; it is among us. In a sense, it is a a deeper , unseen dimension.
These scriptures we are meditating on this week have drawn my heart deeper. Psalm 42- The writer longs for God. Nothing else will satisfy Isaiah 43- God reassures us that our deep need for rescue and security are met in his faithfulness Jeremiah 32-God promises nothing is too hard for him, speaking to our sense of inadequacy Isaiah 45- Creation is made for habitation. We are wanted. Job 37- God's power is without comparison. (for full texts see previous blog)
The deepest, most painful and difficult longings of our hearts are met in Elohim, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We can join the multitudes of people throughout time and space calling out to him with confidence, knowing he hears and is present.
Maybe that is why God allows a derivative of the pagan word for god to be his name- as a reminder to those who know him as Yahweh. Even those still in darkness long for the God of all gods, our Elohim.
I pray that we listen to the longings of our hearts, and allow them to draw us deeper into presence with God.
Do you love the feeling of sunshine soaking into your skin? Are you already missing summer, the warmth of the sun penetrating deep into your bones as you lounge by the pool or on the beach? Now that the weather is actually catching up to the calendar, some of us are dreading the coming cold months.
Not me.
I love fall and winter. Not the grey, dingy days though- that gets a little old. We need bright sunny days even when it’s cold- we always need the light.
And we always need the light of God’s presence in our lives, no matter how dark the season. Some of us are in one of those dark seasons- loss, overcommitment, financial stress, doubt and worry.
A couple of weeks ago we read from Isaiah, the passage we love about the promise of Christ. The promise begins, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.” (Isaiah 9:2) We are living in the days of this promise, fulfilled in Christ. His light is shining, but there is still darkness in our land.
The question is, where do we see our future? Do we expect the darkness to last forever, or do we see the light that is, and will surely continue to shine?
Sometimes life steals our ability to see the light. Distractions, difficulties, responsibilities, opportunities- all these things can commandeer our attention and before we know it, we are trying to do everything in our own power and strength. Or we lose hope in the light’s ability to ever penetrate the gloom of loss and mourning.
I would like to invite you into a season of light, when we allow the presence of God to soak into our skin, deep past our bones into our souls. As we read scripture, let’s simply allow it to penetrate our hearts with the truth of who God is, and who he wants to be for us, as individuals and in community. Let’s even read the scriptures of those in mourning and doubt, yet who still call out to God, and let’s join them if that is our season.
Let’s read, and allow our hearts to respond in joy and worship. In this space, we will follow a practice described below- follow along, or read in your own way. Several scriptures will be included; if you are pressed for time pick only one. If your souls responds to music, follow the link to a Spotify playlist that includes songs focused on God’s name and attributes; I have found it helps me remember to bask in truth throughout my day.
This week, we are reading scripture where the name of God is translated “Elohim.” This is a word taken from the surrounding culture (“el” for “mighty being” or “god”) yet used in a distinct way by the Hebrews- a plural form with a singular verb, underscoring God’s power (God of gods) and might (Mighty One).
Weekly practice Prayer of anticipation Father, thank you for your word. We welcome your work in our hearts through this reading today.
Read text (as much or as little as you have time for!) Isaiah 43:10-13 "But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the LORD . “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God— there never has been, and there never will be. I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the LORD . “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”
Isaiah 54:5 For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.
Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?
Isaiah 45:18 For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other.
Job 37:5-12 God’s voice is glorious in the thunder. We can’t even imagine the greatness of his power. He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down. Then everyone stops working so they can watch his power. The wild animals take cover and stay inside their dens. The stormy wind comes from its chamber, and the driving winds bring the cold. God’s breath sends the ice, freezing wide expanses of water. He loads the clouds with moisture, and they flash with his lightning. The clouds churn about at his direction. They do whatever he commands throughout the earth.
Psalm 42:1-11 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you— even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. I hear the tumult of the raging seas as your waves and surging tides sweep over me. But each day the LORD pours his unfailing love upon me, and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life. “O God my rock,” I cry, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?” Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, “Where is this God of yours?” Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!
Meditation (pick one or more passage to reread, allowing your mind and heart to respond in worship)
Gratitude (consider the ways God has been present in your life and the lives of those you love. Allow your gratitude to flow as an offering of thanks to God)
Self examination Often as I consider the majesty of God, I become aware of my own failings. This is not a time of self-condemnation; instead, open your heart to God’s presence. Respond to God by allowing him to draw you into his strength, not by trying to find your own. Accept his healing, his power, his love.
Prayer of presence Father, we invite your presence into our lives as we go forward into our lives.
Spotify playlistA Light Will Shine For a printed journal, email Deet.scott@gmail.com Much thanks to She Reads Truth for their reading plan, Names of God. For their complete 21 day plan, click here
prayersformychildren.org 