Name Above All Names

It’s always fascinating to see how God will arrange a meeting between one of His needy children and a reassuring, insightful word from Scripture. I know that some find it preposterous that God would care about the daily activities and needs of His people. But the fact is, He does care for His children; He cares for each of us and, yes, even for you. God desires to give us some of His revealed wisdom in our times of need and He does so through His Word.

I recently had several skin cancers removed from my legs. I’ve had many such lesions removed throughout my life and there was nothing particularly different this time, but for some reason I found some anxiety rising in me. Perhaps one of the reasons for the anxiety was my feeling of,
“Is there no end to this?” The legalistic Pharisees would suggest that I felt this way because of my weak faith and they could be right.

The day before my surgical procedure I had one of those intersections between my need and God’s Word. As I was working at my desk, I came across an old note I had written with just Psalm 75:1-3 on it…nothing else. I am hopelessly curious and when I saw the note I couldn’t just throw it away. I couldn’t remember why I had written it or what these verses were about, so I quickly looked up the passage:

"We give thanks to you, O God,
we give thanks, for your Name is near;
men tell of your wonderful deeds.
You say, "I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge uprightly.
When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm” (Psalm 75:1-3, NIV).

I was deeply encouraged by the reminder to give thanks in all things. And then the powerful declaration of God regarding His sovereignty hit me: “I choose the times, all of them. and I judge all things righteously. When things around you are shaking and seeming like they will fall apart, it is I [God]) who holds the pillars firm.” This was a powerfully encouraging passage for me at my moment of anxiety.

As I enjoyed this word of encouragement, I realized that I didn’t understand one part of it. I was rather baffled by the phrase, “for your Name is near.” What I also didn’t realize was how much the meaning of that phrase was going to minister to me at the place of my need.

After a little research I found out that some ancient Jewish authors and biblical scholars would not write out or pronounce the name of God. They felt that to do so was sacrilegious and showed a lack of reverence, so instead, they put abbreviations (YWWH for Yahweh) or used “the Name” to indicate that it was God they were speaking of.

My search to understand this rather awkward phrase also led me to Deuteronomy 12:5: “You shall seek the place which the Lord your God shall choose…to put His name and make His dwelling place…” (Amplified).
I discovered that the use of “Name” for God is equivalent to “His presence.” The place where God puts His Name is the place where the Lord Himself chooses to dwell.

The Lord quickened at least three things to my heart from these verses:

1. The passage was reminding me to give thanks. The injunction to “give thanks” is repeated within verse one and repetition in Scripture tells me, “This is important so pay attention.” I don’t give thanks for the problems, I give thanks for His faithfulness, for the wonderful ways He has met our needs in the past, and for His unfailing love. I worship Him!

2. God is not remote from those who give thanks. He is near and He is not unaware of each of the needs we face…all of them…big and little. God is aware of everything going on in our lives and He is not removed or distant from the struggle we may be in. In Psalm 75:1 God is telling us that He is near, that He chooses to make His dwelling place close to His children. Honest thanksgiving is humble thanksgiving and God dwells with the humble (Psalm 138:6).

3. I was reminded that He is still in charge, He is sovereign. He establishes the times for everything and when moments of tribulation come, He is the one who will hold things together.

Child of God, no matter the circumstances of your life, He is near and you are entitled to call on His Name.