Yahweh is There.
Doing this study, I have been taught so much about the Father that I didn't know before. He has one name, but within His ultimate name, He has several 'nick'names if you will, that tell us who He truly is. This week, God revealed Himself as Jehovah Shammah, or The LORD is There. What a beautiful name! I've spoke before of my deep love in definitives in the Bible. I loose my mind when God leaves no room for misinterpretation and just shows who He is and what He is and what He longs to be for me. I love when God says He IS something. Because God isn't a sometimes kind of guy. He's an always. He IS there. He is not sometimes there. He is not sometimes listening. He is not sometimes my healer, He doesn't provide for me whenever He feels like it. No, God makes it clear. He IS. His name, Yahweh, or, "I AM" tells us that much. So the fact that God just told me that He IS there- in a time in my life when I'm scared to be alone- well that is something that I hold close to my heart right now.
Don't you also love how God waits to tell you something until you absolutely need it the most? Throughout this series God has revealed Himself to me at precisely the right moment with the proper and fitting name. Because He is amazing like that.
But anyway back to God's name for this week. I got to thinking about this name, and I feel like it can be interpreted three different ways (probably more but that's what I got)
First, God is There as in God is Present.
God understands. He is joining us, he is a part of us. When you speak to someone, excluding the answering machine, they must be present to hear you and respond. You cannot communicate with someone if they are not present in some form. The same stands true for God. God is Here- he is listening and responding, however, sometimes it is not the clearest response or the response we were hoping for (do you think sometimes God does respond [with actions are circumstances] however they are so opposite of what we wanted that we either refuse or deflect them as God's communication and wait on "our" answer? I DO.)
Second, God is There as in God is Involved.
Continuing on my last thought, I think it is a fair assumption that if God is Present, He is also Involved. Although sometimes God doesn't always intervene, He is still involved. He desires to hear us. To know us. And even though He knows everything, He still just wants to hear our voices and He wants us to come to Him. He wants to be active and involved in His children's lives. That's why He's there all the time. He is waiting on us to utilize the gift of undivided attention.
Third, God is There as in God is Dwelling.
This is probably my favorite, but also the most concerning and frightening. The Bible teaches in Romans 8:9 that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers of Christ. God lives in me. His home is in my soul. This, my friends, is a win. A famous song says, "How many kings step down from their thrones?" How many Kings in history have stepped down to be one with their people? And when you think about what a king is like, how to do you picture them? In the fields with the commoners, or on an elevated throne, separated from those more lowly.
God didn't just step down from His throne to dwell with us- no, He stepped off His throne to become one of us.
