Name above all names

"faith in His name"

Acts 3:16

Are you a collector?  I wonder if people are, by nature.  It's hard to go into a home without seeing a grouping of items on display, that gives insight into the owner.  Stamps, coins, figurines... I watched a home improvement show the other day where someone went to an estate sale and bought everything the owner had, that had an apple on it.  Baskets, place mats, magnets, dishware, decor... he purchased every piece he found.  

My biggest collection is books.  I still have most of the books I studied in college, plus a host of others I have acquired since then.  But I only have so much shelf space, so it's a constant battle to decide what's worthy of keeping.

But I also collect intellectual things.  Quotes, Bible verses, words and phrases that teach or inspire me.  I have them written in books, and jotted on my computer and hiding on scraps of paper in my Bible or on my desk. 

And along those same lines, I also collect truths about God.  Promises, characteristics, and names.  And those ~ the names ~ are what I'm thinking about today.

El Shaddai, Jehovah-Mephalti, Elohim, Abba.... they all tell us something about Him.  All-Sufficient, Deliverer, Creator, Father.

So sometimes I take it a step further.  Sometimes I think about who He is, or who I need Him to be, and I try to meditate on Him or worship Him for that.

Jehovah-Berakah, the Source of Blessings.

Jehovah-Chakah, God who waits.

Jehovah-Mysterion, He is a mystery.

They aren't Biblical, of course; they are just for me.  And I'm not even sure they're accurate.  I think of a word to describe Him, or one of His characteristics, and then I find it in a Bible verse.  Then I look that verse up in a transliteration, to find that word in the Hebrew or Greek.  Languages being what they are, I'm sure sometimes I'm getting it wrong.

But at the same time, I'm discovering something new.  For instance, I recently thought to myself how silent God can seem sometimes.  So I found Psalm 83:1 ~ "Do not keep silent, O God!" The Hebrew word used there for "silent" is "demiy", but here's where it gets a little hinky.  The word "demiy" actually means "silence", not "silent".  Small difference to me, but it might be huge to someone else.  Which is why I stress that this whole process is for my own edification, to help me worship Him better. 

But what I discovered that blessed me, was that when I was thinking of how God is silent, I was not really appreciating that characteristic of His.  I was in a place where I was doing a lot of talking to Him on a particular subject, and He didn't seem to be responding at all.  So my considering Him as "silent" was a little bitter on my part.

But then I found the word "demiy", which in addition to silence also means peace, quiet, and stillness.  And who doesn't love those?  So by focusing on His attributes, through my love of words, I am reminded that His attributes comprise who He is.  All of who He is.  And it's all good.  Even the parts that sometimes feel not-so-good.

The Bible calls God our Father, our Redeemer, our Protector and our Bridegroom.  He is all that and more.  He is more than we know, and everything we need.

~ "let us continually offer

  the sacrifice of praise to God,

that is, the fruit of our lips,

giving thanks to His name" ~

Hebrews 13:15

~