My daughter and I were talking about the names of God the other day because that was the sermon series at her church. And it made me realize how thankful I am that I serve a God who meets me where I am. Because the names of God represent the uniqueness of God. He isn’t a cookie cutter, one size fits all kind of God. Instead, He knows what we need and He meets us where we are.
El-Shaddai
For Abraham, God was El-Shaddai, God Almighty. Abraham was 99 years old and still didn’t have any children. It was beginning to look hopeless. But God wanted Abraham to know nothing is impossible with Him. He is El-Shaddai (Genesis 17).
God is always present
Then we have Jacob, who had to leave home to escape his twin brother who was plotting to kill him. He finds himself camping in the middle of nowhere, using a stone to rest his head (read more about that in this post). What Jacob needed to know was God was always present even in the most desolate and bleakest places.
I Am
Moses, on the other hand, didn’t feel he had the credentials to lead the people of Isreal out of Egypt. Furthermore, he doubted anyone would believe him (Exodus 3:11-14). Moses lacked confidence and so God revealed Himself as I Am. Moses needed to know he was more than qualified because I Am had sent him. God would be the spackle that fills in all of Moses’ inadequacies. All Moses needed was God.
God of comfort
Next there’s Elijah, who felt alone, worn out, and running for his life. He wasn’t seeing any progress despite all his efforts and he wondered if it was it worth it to continue. He was so dejected he wanted to quit. God could’ve shown up as powerful, majestic and terrifying and slapped some sense into Elijah. But He didn’t. That wasn’t what Elijah needed. He needed comfort. He’s worked so hard standing up for what is right and he’s tired from the battle. So God spoke to him in a gentle whisper (I Kings 19:8-18).
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies
But a gentle whisper wasn’t what the nation of Isreal needed. Their land was ruined by war. Some of their people were taken captive. And their temple was destroyed. They needed hope. So God reminded them The Lord of Heaven’s Armies was on their side. They needed to know they were not defeated, even though their situation looked bleak, and there was still so much left to do. The fact they had the Lord of Heaven’s Armies on their side was the encouragement they needed to continue rebuilding.
My encounter with God
In my life, God has shown up in so many ways. When we had to rush our son to the ER at 8 weeks old only to be given a grim prognosis, God was El-Shaddai. We put our hope in the fact He could do the impossible.
When I was scared and worried about our son’s future, I remembered God is faithful and has never broken a promise. So God will be faithful to complete the work He started in my son.
When we were told there was no medical cure, I remembered God was Healer. He was not limited by medical improbabilities. He can do whatever He wanted.
And in the waiting room where I was using chairs as a bed, He spoke in a gentle whisper and held me while I cried.
In every part of my life, God was exactly what I needed. For that, I’m grateful because I can’t imagine doing this journey without Him.