It's important to get someone's name right. Our names are a significant part of who we are, the way we are known and even the way we know ourselves.
To begin understanding Jesus, we need to know that there are many names for him. Each one gives a new perspective into his very nature.
God is calling your name now, and inviting you to consider again who Jesus is for you.
Then I said, “Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
Do not, O Lord, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.
Psalm 40:7-11
It can feel really scary to talk about the things that are truly important. We don’t always know how others might respond. Will they still love us? Will they get it? Will they treat us differently, or are we alone?
There’s a lot about the Psalms that we don’t know, but what we do know is that in this chapter, the psalmist was in real trouble. Real trouble. Today’s Scripture passage is a deep sigh of gratitude because God was with the writer in the desolate pit, and God is still there now.
Handing the “stuff” of our lives over to a parent, or a close friend, or to a therapist, or over to God is not always easy, but it can be one of the most intimate and spiritual of practices. We can do that for each other. Through today’s psalm, we hear the whispers of God saying, “I hear you. I am here with you. I can handle it, and I will not abandon you.”
Marc van Bulck
Breathe on me your Spirit, O God. Remind me that there is nothing in my life that you can’t handle. Amen.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:14-17