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. Now, this is not EVERY SINGLE name and title mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, but they are the most significant ones. 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 days 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. By praying.
Here’s what I learned in my fifth week…
Oooo, I had been looking forward to learning more about this name, Yahweh Yireh (pronounced yah-WEH yir-EH). The God who provides. The whole reason TrueCouponing was started was out of a need to provide FOOD for our family. And God knew that! Yahweh Yireh is the God who sees our situation beforehand and is able to provide for our needs.
Personal reflection: Have I ever told you about Norman? He was our cow. Yes, we purchased a cow to be butchered. We never really got to know the cow, but because of the movie “City Slickers’ we named our cow Norman, and we ate him. We would pray “Thank you dear Lord for providing Norman who tastes so delicious.” It was several weeks of beef. Then one day, I was on my way to work (I worked part-time at our Church) and I got the mail to open if I had a few moments once I got there. Upon opening the mail I found an unidentified envelope, and inside were several (not just one…that would have been awesome in itself) hundred dollar bills. What? Yes. Hundred dollar bills. I thought to myself, oh Lord, you are so good to us. You saw that we spent our savings on Norman and have provided for us to refill our savings. Thank you Lord. Well, then the phone rang. It was my Mom (she was babysitting my kids at my house). She proceeded to tell me that my freezer was dripping brown stuff and smelled and she needed me to come home and help! We lost Norman. All the steaks, roasts, ground beef, everything. What a disappointment (we won’t mention who may have left the freezer ajar, oh, ok, it was ME!!)! You know what I learned that day? God not only always provides. But He provides BEFORE we know we need Him too. He knew we were going to lose that meat. He knew I would be devastated. And He chose to give me a glimmer of hope that He has already gone before me to provide. Wow.
Key verse that spoke to me: Genesis 22:13-14 “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On that mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Last year my Pastor preached about this very topic. Sacrifice. The willingness to sacrifice something we treasure in order to worship our Lord. Abraham took his son (his only son mind you) up on the mountain, knowing he would be killing him as a sacrifice for God. Abraham did it. He went, he brought wood, he brought a knife. And you know what? Abraham had the FAITH that if God was going to take Issac away, that meant God had something EVEN BETTER planned for them. You’ve got to be kidding me? You mean, Abraham never questioned whether or not he could go through with it? Nope. He knew that without a doubt God would Provide. Either the knife would break before it went into his son. Or lightening would strike Abraham first and interrupt the whole ordeal. He never wavered. And what happened? An Angel appeared and said “Abraham, Stop!!” and then the Lord provided a ram to offer as a sacrifice instead. Call on Yahwey Yireh today, relying on Him fully for all your needs.
Want to read more? Go HERE to view prior week’s posts of other names. Go HERE to learn more about and purchase the book, Praying the Names of God.
~You are welcome to join me at anytime to get to know God deeper in 2013! (I’m now on chapter 6…the chapters don’t build upon each one…you can jump in where/when ever)
