JEHOVAH MAKKEH

BE PLIABLE IN GOD'S HANDS

The name Jehovah Makkeh means the Lord our Smiter or correcter.  Smite is defined as: to strike with a firm blow. You may be thinking, how can God smite His creation?  God is a holy God and cannot look the other way and allow sin to rule our life. Although God corrects us, we must remember along with His chastisement comes His healing, grace, and mercy.  God’s purpose is to shape and perfect us. His correction is meant for our benefit. We in turn, need to have a desire to change our thinking (repent),  be willing to surrender our life to Him, and submit to His guidance.

Psalms 51:17 says, “My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly repentant] such, O God, You will not despise.”

The psalmist is telling us the sacrifice that God desires is a heart which is broken and willing to surrender to Him.  If we are not willing to submit our will to God, so that He can mold us, our circumstances and/or satan will crush us. John 10:10 explains this, “ A thief (satan) has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I (Jesus) have come to give you everything in abundance,  more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!”

When we commit our lives to God, He begins to shape and change us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.  He does through His Word, the guidance of Holy Spirit, and by using circumstances in our lives.

As we go through various situations and trials in our lives, God is training, teaching, strengthening,  and preparing us.

The following scripture describes God’s desire to mold us into who He created us to be.  Jeremiah 18:1-6, “The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,  “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.”  So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.  Then the Lord gave me this message: can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”

God is a loving Father, filled with compassion.  He takes us as we are, loves us unconditionally, and pours His grace (His divine influence) into our hearts, molding us into mighty men or women of God.   Isaiah 64:8 proclaims, “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.    We are the clay, and you are the potter.  We all are formed by your hand.”

Father, help us to surrender all we are to You and allow You to change our heart. We are the clay and You are the Potter.

 

JEHOVAH SHALOM Part 2

We are looking at how God reveals Himself to us through His various names, each name describing a different aspect of His character.  Jehovah Shalom denotes God of peace. The word peace comes from the Greek word “eirene” which is defined as: a state of rest, quietness, calmness, and absence of strife.  Ultimate peace is a result of reconciliaing with God and placing faith in His Word.  Peace is NOT based on our circumstances or in our relationships with others.  True peace results from being in a right relationship with God. When we focus on God and not our circumstances, we can have peace even while everything around us seems to be falling apart.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10  “ The thief (satan) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.”  I believe one of the first things satan tries to steal from us is our peace.  If he can plant doubt and unbelief in our heart, our thinking becomes disconnected from God and His Word, resulting in loss of our peace.  We need to remember, staying connected to God and believing in His promises, is a CHOICE. Choosing to place our faith in something besides God, is an open door for our peace to be stolen.  We must learn to hold on to this precious gift of peace from God and recognize its value.

I can almost hear you saying, “you don’t know what I’m going through.”  You’re right, I don’t, but God does and I do know God and His Word rise above every situation.  As we begin to shift our thinking from our circumstances to God’s promises, peace will fill our heart and mind.

Isaiah 26:3 tell us, “You (God)  will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].”

God has promised - when we focus on Him, peace is ours.

Father, I renounce any chaos and confusion that has ruled in the hearts of your children and I declare your Word over their lives:
“Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. “ Colossians 3:15

EL SHADDAI Part 2

El Shaddai is God Almighty, the all sufficient One, more than enough to meet our needs. That sentence speaks volumes regarding Who God is.  In Exodus 6:2-3, God reveals Himself to Moses as El Shaddai.  The people of Israel had been slaves to the Egyptians for over 400 years.  The Israelites called out to God for help (Exodus 2:23-25).  God heard their cry and chose Moses to go to the Egyptian king (Pharaoh) to bring them out of captivity into a new land (Exodus 3-5).  

This angered Pharaoh and his treatment of the Israelites became worse. In Exodus 5:22-23, Moses returned to God and said, “Why have You brought all this trouble on Your own people, Lord?  Why did You send me?  Ever since I came to Pharaoh as Your spokesman, he has been even more brutal to Your people. And You have done nothing to rescue them!”

At this point God revealed Himself as El Shaddai.  Exodus 6:2-3, “God said to Moses, I am Yahweh—the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El-Shaddai—God Almighty.”

God wanted Moses to realize Who He was and that He was more than able to bring His people out of captivity.

The Israelites wanted to be free, but were afraid of the unknown and had grown comfortable in their captivity.  

Our lives are not much different than the Israelites.  There are many things that can keep us captive today.  Fear, depression, shame, hopelessness, rejection, drugs and alcohol are just a few.  We too may desire to be free from these mindsets,  but fear of the unknown, being comfortable in our situation, and even unforgiveness can keep us from moving forward.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. “

God is the same God today as He was in Exodus.  He desires to release us from those mindsets that keep us in captivity, and prevent us from having the abundant life Jesus came to give us.  He is El Shaddai, God almighty,  all sufficient One and is more than enough to meet our needs.