What's in a name?

So there has been a great deal on my mind lately. One of the biggest things is about the character of God. In the English language we know Him as God and Lord, but very rarely are any other names used. Over the years, this has made it hard for me to understand Him at all.

He created the world. Lovely. But what does that mean. In Hebrew, He has a name, Elohim, that refers to Him as God the Mighty Creator. Not only can He create. He is THE creator. He is the only one who can create something beautiful out of complete nothingness. For us, if we want to create, we have to combine things that are already in existence or modify them in some way. This isn’t true of God. He can create entire galaxies out of total nothingness. Think about that for a minute. He created this entire world, with all the different species of plants and animals. He created different races and within the different races, all people are different. Our God created all of this out of nothing.

Another name that I love is Jehovah Jireh (or Yahweh Yireh), which means God Who Provides. God is our provider. It is not just that He can give us clothes or pretty flowers. He can provide all the things that we need to be fully alive in Him. In my life, He provided a way out, a way to live. That may not sound that incredible, but I have gone back and read some old journals, and believe me, it is a miracle that I am not only here, but happy! God provides that which we need, whether it is training so we can fulfill our purpose or putting someone in our lives to encourage us… He provides EVERYTHING that we need.

Following closely with that is another name, Yahweh Rophe, meaning the Lord Who Heals. God is the ultimate healer. He doesn’t just put salve on a gash and wait to see what happens. He goes deep into those wounds and mends them up. He makes them like new. My heart is no longer the stitched together mess it used to be. I still get hurt, but I give my hurts to God, and He goes in and mends them up. I have to let Him in and often it hurts so badly! But in the end, it is so worth it. God is Healer. He is the Great Physician. He is the only one who can heal us like that!

There are many other names for God in Hebrew, as well as variations between cultures, but these are the names I have been reading about and trying to really meditate on. Jehovah Jireh is probably my favorite right now. He provides. He gives us what we need to live fully alive. And it is just incredible to me!

(I do want to give credit for where I found out about the different names. It is Ann Spangler’s book entitled Praying the Names of God. It is a wonderful book that I am still in the process of reading, but it has daily meditations and I love it!)

Blessings and peace to you all today and every day!