When God Changed His Name

Okay, correction forthcoming, God didn't really head to the local courthouse and fill out paperwork to change His name, but He did add a name to the list of names used in the Bible to describe Himself. If you would like to discover what prompted Him to add a different name for Himself, today's blog is for you. 

Genesis - Chapter 1 - The creation chapter. The Hebrew word for God in the first chapter of Genesis is "Elohim". This word describes the majestic, universal title for God as Creator and Ruler. But you might also notice that this word is not personal, it's more of a 30,000 foot view of the Creator and his processes. It's like the difference between a speaker describing himself to a group versus his interaction when conversing with a small group of individuals. 

Moving on . . . 

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Genesis | Chapter 1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day . . .

Billy Joel - The Ballad of Billy the Kid

 

"God Is With Us Always"

 

God's Goodness In 25 Verses

1. "The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” - Psalm‬ ‭145:17-18‬ 

2. "The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed in spirit" ‭‭- Psalm 34:18‬ ‭

3. “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield.” - Psalms‬ ‭91:4‬ ‭

4. "The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." - Lamentations 3:25 

5. "Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him!" ‭‭- Hebrews 11:6‬ ‭

6. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10 

Does God Truly Care?

Would it bring you comfort to know that for thousands of years man has asked the following question, “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?” (Judges 6:13)

Gideon asked the question thousands of years ago, and we’ve been asking it ever since. 

Looking at his circumstances, Gideon saw no evidence that God cared. And if we are not careful, we can also fall into that same mindset. In the circumstances facing Gideon, the children of Israel had been warned that their worship of pagan gods would result in judgement, and that was the primary reason God was allowing His people to be disciplined. 

But that is not the only reason that God will allow us to walk through seasons of trials and pain. Jesus, He who was without sin, also suffered many trials and pain beyond our imaginations. And He told His disciples, "If they hate me they will also hate you." So sometimes suffering can be the result of persecution for our faith in God. 

But there is another type of suffering that honestly might be tougher to understand then the examples above, and that is where people, through no fault of their own, are allowed by God to undergo trials and tribulations. And that is where we have to trust in the character and love of God and take refugee in the fact that He is with us, through all circumstances in our lives, and there are mysteries in God's sovereign rulership that escapes our finite capabilities to understand. Yet, even in those situations, God gives us a clue in John 9: “that the works of God might be displayed”.