Names of God

Over the ages, God has revealed himself to his people through so many magnificent names. Each name of God gives us a glimpse into a specific aspect of his character and helps us to know him more.

Our life with God is not without troubles. But rather God assures us of his presence when we go through trials, and is more than able to bring us victoriously to the other side, as we put our trust in him. And he is working out his larger plan for us through the process. Jehovah Nissi is a banner of victory over our life and over our circumstances!

We all face different needs in our lives at different times. Our needs can vary from physiological, emotional, mental, spiritual or social needs. Psalm 24:1 says that the whole earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. And God certainly has the authority and the means to direct his tangible and intangible resources to whatever need we may be facing. When we look up to him in prayer, it prepares us to wait with expectation, rather than worry about our situations.

We live in a fallen world and there is brokenness in our bodies, emotions, our situations and in the world around us. John 11:42-44 says that after giving thanks Jesus called out in a loud voice for the dead man Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he did. This demonstrated Jesus’ authority over death itself, which is the ultimate form of sickness. Jehovah Rapha is still in the business of healing people. Along with broken bodies, he heals our broken hearts, minds, relationships, and for that matter anything that is broken in our lives, when we allow him.

Peace as we know is quite a sought after commodity in the world today . We may have everything, but if we don’t have peace, none of those things really seem to matter at that moment. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus calls out to all who are weary and heavy laden to come to him that we may receive his rest. When our lives are yoked with him, he does the heavy lifting and our load becomes light. Our starting point for peace is to first of all make peace with our maker.

Living up to our own standards can be a struggle at times. How then can we live up to the perfect standards of a holy God? Romans 5:1 says that we have been made right in God’s sight by faith and we have peace because of what Jesus Christ did for us. This can be hard for the natural mind to comprehend, “How can I be made righteous (accepted by God) without any effort on my side?” We are accepted first (by faith) and then we pursue holiness because of our love for God and what he has done for us.

Many years ago, as Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people cried out joyously with great hope, “Hosanna” (meaning, ‘save, we pray’). The people were looking to be saved from their political situation, but Jesus came for something even better than that. Matthew 1:21 says that Mary would give birth to a Son, who was to be called Jesus, for he would save his people from their sins. Even as we may be in need of being saved from the many things going on around us, our greatest need truly is to be saved from our sins.