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 ESV
Names
are important in the Bible. Parents did
not just name their children according to what name they thought sounded
nice. They often gave their children
names that revealed something about the child’s family, future, personality, or
the circumstances in which they lived.
Names defined a person. In this
verse, God asks me the question: Do you
know my name? I know that with questions
like this, God calls me deeper; he wants
to show me something more. So I dive
in.
God
is called by many names in the Bible.
Books and Bible studies have been written on the names of God, so it is a
big subject. But I know if I look, I
will see something important about God and who He is, just through studying His
Name. I found a list of the Names of God in the back
of my Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I carefully
read through the list and prayerfully considered what to do next. Do you
know my name? I decide to start with
the name God gave when introducing Himself to Moses: Yahweh, or Jehovah. I AM.
I
go back to Exodus 3 and I find Moses standing barefoot before the bush which is
on fire, but will not burn up. God is
speaking to him, giving him a life-changing mission to go back to Egypt and
free the Israelites from slavery. Moses
has some questions. He does not
immediately accept the assignment. He
has questions. He asks God for a
name. Who should he say sent him? “I AM WHO I AM,” God says. “Tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you’”
(Exodus 3:14).
I
read the definitions for Yahweh slowly, over and over again, soaking them
in. I
AM. Life-giver. Performer
of His promises. The One who Is. The Absolute and Unchangeable One. He who
is It 1. I imagine that as Moses
stood there before the fire, surprised by the meeting he found himself in, he
remembered what had happened in Egypt, and he worried about what could happen
if he went back. Yet, as he wrestled
with the past and worried about the future, God brought him back to the present,
declaring,” I AM!” Moses needed to know
that God is Real and Present. God met
that need in revealing His Name. I AM.
What
is my deepest need right now? Is it a
need for faith? Forgiveness? Material provision? Relationships? Healing?
Freedom? Purpose? It is hard to know; I need so much! I ask so many questions, I crave so many answers. I worry about so much that is lacking and seek
so many different kinds of provision. I
search and search…. But, YOU, LORD, are my deepest need. YOU are my Need and my Answer. I put my trust in You. You are I AM.
Life-giver, The One who Is. The Absolute and Unchangeable One. Performer of His Promises. He Who is It.
Heavenly Father,
Thank
you for being the Great I AM. Thank you
for ruling over every circumstance, and for breathing life into each new
day. Help me to trust you with every
need, and to follow You down each path You invite me to take. You are the God who sees. You are the God who provides. You are It.
You are The One who Is, my Answer and my greatest need. Help me to seek You first, trusting you to
care for all the details of my days, and to see me through the greatest
heartaches and triumphs in my life.
‘Because
he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I
will protect him, because he knows my name.
When
he calls out to me, I will answer him;
I
will be with him in trouble;
I
will rescue him and honor him.
With
long life I will satisfy him
and
show him my salvation.’
Psalm 91:14-16
1 From Brown-Driver-Briggs (Click to open)
