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What Is God's Name...

             “But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16)

“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.” (Joshua 1:2-3)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:1)

                       

            One of the things that Henry Blackabee wrote about in Experiencing God is that God reveals Himself when He is going to do something and that when He reveals Himself, He reveals His name and/or His character. That led me to question how God revealed Himself to me. The first answer was as my Guide. If I have learned anything or experienced God in any way, I am more sure that it is as my Guide than I am of any other thing. He has guided me. He is guiding me. I have no reason not to expect Him to continue to guide me.

            But as I turned out the light last night, one of the issues on my mind was how else (if at all) God has revealed Himself or some aspect of Himself. Aside from His guidance, the themes in my life right now seem to be competence, creativity, and service. Is He revealing Himself in these themes? I don’t know, but maybe.

            Then, Sunday morning, my pastor pointed out something I’d never heard. The New Testament was originally written in Greek, but Jesus would have taught in Aramaic. Apparently, two words in Aramaic would be translated as “blessed” in English. One means “blessed from the perspective of the person blessed,” and the other means “blessed from the perspective of others looking on.” He suggested that the latter was the term used. I don’t have the linguistic knowledge to investigate that, but it recalled to my mind that Abram was blessed to be a blessing and the idea I’ve shared before that what the Old Testament revealed through nations, the New Testament addresses through our internal lives. In other words, while Joshua and the Israelites fought to capture the Promised Land that would be called Israel, we fight to capture the promised land of our own souls. And we are raised up, as the Pharoah was, to show God’s power and that His name (not ours) might be proclaimed in all the earth because of what He does in us far more than of what He does through us.

            In other words, as much as I want God to guide me through where I’m supposed to live, what I’m supposed to do, etc., and as much as I want Him to lead me into being a beloved (if not best-selling) novelist, I need to pay better attention to where He’s leading me within myself. Drawing on another source of inspiration, John Ortberg is doing a series of podcasts about our stories. He says we all have stories. God designed us to have stories within His great story. The way that God reveals Himself to people in the Bible also reveals their stories. What is it within my story that I can give to others? It’s certainly not some great salvation story or one of great success (in the world’s eyes.) But if there’s anything, it’s likely to be the story of my being guided by my Guide and where I go as a result.

            This doesn’t mean God is only doing one thing in my life. I’m sure it’s much more complex than I can imagine, but this is where the idea begins. In what ways has God revealed Himself to you - particularly repeatedly? What might your life be God’s way of revealing Himself to the nations? What internal land is He leading you to conquer? And if all this sounds disjointed, remember that I’m exploring the idea, too.

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