This year I am trying to gain a deeper understanding of God by learning the individual names presented throughout the Bible. One per week. Twenty-six names of God and twenty-six names of Jesus. I am using a daily devotional book written by Ann Spangler, Praying the Names of God. You are welcome to read along and join me on this journey! The book is SO enjoyable to read, some day’s I just don’t even want to put it down. I am writing notes and circling all through it so that I can look back through it later as a reference.
Ancient names carried far more significance than they do today. In addition to distinguishing one person from another, they also revealed the character and essential nature of a person. By revealing his name, God becomes more vulnerable to us. That gives us the ability to know God better. Deeper.
Here’s what I learned in this fourth week…
This week I learned all about the name El Olam (pronounced EL o-LAM). The God who has no beginning and no end. The God whose love endures forever. The Hebrew word Olam occurs more than four hundred times in the Hebrew Scriptures and refers to the fullness of the experience over time or space. But the title El Olam appears only four times and it encompasses God’s laws, promises, covenant and kingdom. The lack of overuse shows the importance of the promise of a life past what we see right now. The eternity.
Personal reflection: I must admit, sometimes I get caught up in the here and now. Running around trying to get it all accomplished, the house, the kids, the schoolwork, the entertaining, the teaching, the blogging. I forget the long-term, the eternal. In Isaiah 40:29 God promises strength for the weary but what is even better is that He promises to draw from his strength in order to ease our weakness. Christians have been equipped with an ability to draw from the God who lasts beyond all that exists in order to strengthen the weary and empower the weak. My challenge is to live in a way that while getting done everything necessary in the here and now, I live in as example expressing heaven as the true home I am striving for. Another key point I reflected on this week was the fact that God has laid out example upon example of making promises to future generations. This also shows the significance of eternity. His faithfulness extends even beyond our current generation.
Key verse that spoke to me: Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” I always thought wisdom came with years. The older you got the more wise you became. But the scriptures teach us that wisdom comes from realizing that our days are numbered and we must therefore focus on making every moment matter.
Want more? Go HERE to read prior posts from this series. Go HERE to learn more and purchase the book, Praying the Names of God.
~Thank God for this journey!
