a beautiful mess

“They call me girl! They call me Stacy! They call me her! They call me Jane! That’s not my name!” – The Ting Tings, That’s Not My Name

“The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.” – isaiah 8.13

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” – exodus 3.14

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prophets did not go around saying, “the vision said to me.” “the dream spoke to me.” no. it is, “The LORD declares.” “YHWH is his name.”

in days of old, names did more than mean something. they meant everything. it was a microcosm of your self and your story. it was tied like a knot to your personal ethos, your destiny, your soul.

i wonder if we, the church, have been clouding our vision of GOD’s power (for he has certainly lost none) by not claiming his name: i wonder if there are even times when we receive not his power, because we do not claim it.

ambiguity often breeds confusion. this is true of businesses, mission statements, church discipleship processes (see: the simple church), life goals, housing blueprints, recipes for the greatest steak in the world (i heart steak with all my love), or instructions on how to assemble a seemingly simple baby crib. and i have come to this conclusion, often times, the bride simply calls her groom: groom. and it is downright ambiguous.

we sometimes do this when we replace him with the bible. (“the bible says…”)

they are not the same thing. a close second would be “GOD’s word/s” (which are conveyed by the “bible”), but there is nothing special about the pages or the red ink themselves. everything rests on WHO said those things, WHO gave the visions to the prophets, and WHO spoke the radical stories and healing words into the beautiful mess of the souls of men and women.

[selah]

stay with me for this jump: the kingdom of darkness comes only to steal, kill, and destroy: could it be that the kingdom of darkness is slowly drowning out the name of the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob? perhaps that lying lover of pleasure wants the bride to call her groom: groom.

i have challenged myself to be more courageous (specific) in using an actual name of his: YHWH, I AM, ADONAI, YESHUA, HOLY SPIRIT, etc. and so on. yes, the light of this challenge extends to the deepest, darkest parts of my journey because it literally calls out the very promises he has made! at least for me, i have found that it moves my relationship to a place of intimacy.

it is possible that, for you, the word, “god” has come to mean much more than “a deity” or even “the deity”. and if that is the case, more power to you :] that’s why this is a bit of a soapbox. it’s my soapbox. and i am stepping down now.

so what are your thoughts?

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despite my unbelief, i believe that who i am is a son of the only living god & king, YHWH [blessed be his name]. a son of the resurrection. a son of the wind which bends all things.

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