We have this lovely blanket at my house; I think my grandmother on my dad’s side gave it to us years ago. It’s soft, knitted, sunlight ...

The Names of God

Alexa Mintah

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We have this lovely blanket at my house; I think my grandmother on my dad’s side gave it to us years ago. It’s soft, knitted, sunlight yellow, and covered in the names of God with their various meanings.

The other day, I was sitting on the couch, wrapped in this blanket, contemplating something I’d just read in my Bible. As I did, my eyes roamed over the blanket and caught on the words “Jehovah: Unchangeable, Intimate God.”

I'd read these words a million times, but they hit me with thunderous power that morning: Unchangeable. Intimate. God.

My first thought was… Whoa. That’s so… big.

And it is. It's such a huge thought to try to cram into my brain, that my next thought was, “I like calling Him Papa better,” something I’d begun a few months ago, as it embodied the feeling of a loving and caring protective authority, someone I could adore endlessly and trust without fear, all things He's been teaching me to do. “Papa” was much easier to understand than “Jehovah.”

A second later, I realized how ridiculous my own thought sounded. How wrong it was for me to retreat to the name “Papa,” as a way to hide from the idea of God being so big. Not that it’s wrong to use a name that feels personal and holds specific meaning to what He’s been teaching me, but it’s silly—and worse—to attempt to disregard the other parts of His nature just because it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around them.

I think sometimes, we as Christians need to be reminded of just how big God is. That He is in fact more than justsomeone you can trust, that He entails even more than the Savior who loved us enough to die for our sin. He is these, yes, but He is also The Unchangeable, Intimate, Eternal God of the Universe. The Creator and Judge of us all. The Author and Perfecter. The Alpha and the Omega. He is before eternity and in eternity and after eternity. He is.

He just is.

And that is a shocking thing to try to comprehend.

But sometimes, I think we do need to at least contemplate that idea. To sit and just be aware of the holiness and awe-inspiring, incomprehensible greatnessof our God. He puts a whole new meaning on any word you use to describe Him, and every once in a while, we just need to be reminded of that. To stand in amazement as the knowledge of His magnificent, awe-inspiring, holiness and greatness and Godnesswashes over us.

He is Jehovah.

Unchangeable.

Intimate

God.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

Hebrews 12:28

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