Proverbs 18:10, The Name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.
My Father reminded me this morning of the power in His Name. As an older teen/young adult I 'discovered' the Names of God and had the realization that He speaks to us through His Name, teaching us about Himself. Lately, I came across this explanation of His Name; "in biblical times, a name represented a person's character. God's name represents His attributes, His nature. His name is a statement of who He is. And He has many names! Each reveals something of His power and love and purposes toward you." (Kay Arthur) I have long been fascinated with words and names. I love to know names and God has often blessed me with the ability to remember names; although not quite so much lately! I say all that because I believe a name is important; not so much for the name itself as in biblical times but the fact that knowing a name represents some level of caring. (I am not suggesting that if you forget a name that you do not care; however I do think that the practice of paying attention to others and knowing their name is very important.)
Now for those of you who know me you know that I have 3 children, a son and twin daughters. The Lord has used my kids to reinforce my thoughts on the importance of knowing someone's name. Because my son was just barely 2 years old when our daughters were born it was a very interesting time to say the least. One of the things I vividly remember is being out in public and the fascination of others over 2 babies that look the same. Often people would just stop us in a store and ask some 'amazing' questions, but the thing I remember is always saying 'And this is their big brother, Drew.' As much attention as the girls often got, Drew would often be ignored and yet as they grew older and were around people they knew, those people began to know Drew by name and ultimately many called the girls, 'Twins'. Interesting! Once many people realized they were twins it was like the ability to see them as individuals fled. My point? They are uniquely the same and uniquely different. Huh? I mean that they are 2 different people that sometimes look very much a like; however many people just stop at the fact that they are twins and no longer make an effort to distinguish between them. I find that sad! I am not saying it isn't difficult to tell them apart but with a little effort it really isn't so hard. The funny thing is back in the early part of our marriage, my husband was a youth pastor and there was a set of twin girls in the youth group. He would constantly ask me who was who and low and behold about 3 years later he had a set of twin girls himself! He quickly realized the importance of knowing them individually and not grouping them in a set. What a significant thing for each of us to learn. Our name may be the same as some one else's or we may even look like someone else, but we are uniquely ourselves and all of us want to be known as who we are rather than just being dismissed or not seen.
I think God is that way as well! He desires to teach us about Himself, He wants to be known and one way He does that is through His Names. He even tells us in Psalm 20:7, to boast in the name of the LORD, our God. And as Proverbs 18:10 points out His Name is a strong tower and we can run to into it and be safe! I am using Kay Arthur's book, "The Peace and Power of Knowing God's Name," as a resource today as we look at His Names.
I want to be known and not just known but known by God and know Him; really know Him in such a way that my moment by moment is different. I do not like to play games; at least emotional and relational games. By games I mean to pretend, we all pretend to some degree I get that, but I just don't like to pretend, I want to be real and be accepted as who I am and yet I have spent and do spend so much of my time trying so hard to be pleasing and acceptable that I find that I am trapped well within a game; a game that is costly. One that has cost me my security and my identity and one that has caused much heartache and pain with it's deception and confusion. I don't know if any one else know's what I am talking about, but what I do know is that I want to be who God made me to be more than I want to be pleasing to any one else any more. This is growth! Now the difficulty lies in the way that I view myself and the way in which I habitually react and handle myself. This is why this battle is so intense, so hard. And yet, no matter how many times I fall, no matter how many times I want to give up and quit, my God, He is Faithful to meet me where I am (Emmanuel), to be my Protector/my Banner (Jehovah- nissi), to be always there (Jehovah-shammah), to be all-sufficient (El Shaddai), to be my peace (Jehovah-shalom), my Lord (Adonai) and my healer (Jehovah-rapha)... Do you see the power in His very names?!! Wow!!!
His Name, Abba (Daddy) Father, is so intimate, so personal. Once again I think of myself as that little bitty, blonde haired, blue eyed girl that would run with such abandon into the arms of her Daddy, completely trusting that He would catch me, that He would protect me and provide for me...I mean I didn't think about it as a child, I just knew it. Instead, I often find myself looking at life through the lens of the middle aged, dirty-blonde haired, blue eyed woman who has come to overthink and trust very little because of the experiences of life rather than allowing myself to look at God through the eyes of a child and trust Him with reckless abandon! Matthew 18:3 even has Jesus telling us, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Verse 4 even goes on to say, "Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
One of the tactics of the enemy is to convince us that we can only trust ourselves and that we are not important to the One who created us (Elohim). Foolishness. When we are children we don't stop to think if we are wanted or important we just live life as if we are the most important to our father and our mother, don't we? When they call our name we come, but how much more precious is it when we say, "Daddy!" and our Father turns to us as if we are the only ones in the room, as if we are of upmost importance. BECAUSE WE ARE! Take time to think about the attributes God reveals through His Names to you and allow yourself to be that little child that simply trusts because it is all you know. That's what I want. I want to know my God with such abandon that all the other things and people around me are just a bonus, not the deciding factor in how I view this life. I have lived much of life backwards in this area, I think, and I find that I just want to know Him and the power of His resurrection, Philippians 3:10! To learn, really learn (to trust) to recognize that I am righteous because of Jesus, period, and that means that I can RUN into the Name of the LORD as a strong tower and be safe! I want to live this life in this truth more often than I fall to the lies of fear or into the sins of anger, doubt, pride and self-reliance... With this learning, this knowing (Philippians 3:10) will come suffering; and yet all of us suffer in some form or fashion, but we can suffer for Christ and with Christ rather than suffer because we are in sin and attempting to do things in our own strength. I don't know about you, but suffering with Christ and attaining the prize of heaven sounds like the better choice (Phil. 3:14).
Father God, forgive me for being so easily distracted by the things of this world, the hurts, the frustrations, the unknowns and for not trusting You with the abandon of a child. Help me to learn to more often turn to You with that faith and child-like trust that does not question but simply acts! On this Journey Your Way, please help me to know You more; to know Your Name and instead of choosing to try to run away in fear, or guilt, convinced that because I have disappointed myself and others once again, that surely You are disappointed with me and tired of me as well. Forgive me for attempting to make You so 'human' that I think You view things the way I do. You were human when You came as Jesus to save us from our sin; however You were perfect and sinless. You do not reject, hold grudges and respond in anger; You accept, You forgive, and You give me a clean slate...Your mercies are new every morning. You are good, You are faithful and You are my strong tower. I can rest in You. I can take refuge in You. You will do the work. You will prepare the way. You will hold me and never ever let me go! Thank You God, that You are my healer, that You are healing me according to Your time table and Your plan. That it does not matter what others see or even understand as long as I am following hard after You. I know that Your ways are best, forgive me for trying to get ahead of You, or trying to be in control and for trying to give up when You are the One who is always for me. Forgive me for rejecting You, for not believing You fully, for my lack of trust and unwillingness to know You as You desire to be known. Please, Lord, renew my hunger for You. My passion to be known and to know You. Transform me from deep within. Change my thinking and help me to learn to react less and respond more! Be the Lord of my mind, will and emotions. Help me to place my focus upon You and run to You as my first choice instead of waiting. Thank You for never giving up on me and for allowing me to share this Journey You have me on with others. Please God, I pray that You will receive the glory from my ramblings and that in my own confusion and battles that I would still point to You and not ever cause confusion or chaos for others as they seek You. To You God be the Glory! For You alone are Worthy of that Glory and Praise!
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