Welcome And Podcast Purpose

Hello my friends and welcome to Everyday God for Your Every Day with Kathy. A space where we'll discuss real practical ways for life with God. Especially for those days when life is hard, complicated, and messy. How do we apply biblical principles such as God's love, mercy, grace, and wisdom to our daily grind? Well, join me each week as we do just that together. So wherever you may find yourself today, please know that you are seen, held, accepted, loved, and never alone. So let's get to it. Hello and welcome back to another episode of Everyday God for your everyday. I am Kathy. I am really excited about today's episode as we will be discussing who is God. It is my favorite topic. I can go on all day talking about God. So we've talked about this concept of everyday God for our everyday, the fact that God wants very much to do life with us. He wants to be involved in your life and in mine. We also discuss seeking God during episode two. Or what does it look like when we're seeking God? And sometimes it can be that we're aware of it, it can be when we're ready, when we're not ready, but we discuss seeking God nonetheless and how seeking ultimately leads to knowing God, right? So the third episode we talked about knowing God deeply, but really focused on the how. What are the things that we are to do in order to really kind of get to know God? Whether it's praying, silent time with God, and also obviously reading scripture, the Bible. So now I really want to focus on the person of God, who God is. And there's really no better way to understand who God is than to know the names of God from the Bible. So you might say, well, Kathy, what does that matter? Well, unlike with Romeo and Juliet, there's a lot in a name when it comes to God. So God's character is reflected in his varied names in the Bible. So on this episode, we're not going to go into every single name that God has, but we're going to really focus on quite a few of them and their respective meanings, and of course, the corresponding character traits as not only I've experienced them throughout my life, but also as they've been introduced to us in scripture. So one of the things that I noticed as I started preparing for this episode is that as you're reading the Bible and you get all of these different names during, you know, different situations and different chapters in the Bible, I'm like, you know, God is like the original situational leader. What I mean by that is for any of you who may or may not be familiar with situational leadership, that's essentially the concept that when you're leading people, when you're managing them, you really shouldn't manage every employee in the same manner, or even manage the same employee in the same manner throughout their tenure reporting to you. Is that you really should manage people based not only on the employee, but also on the situation. So meaning that I might have a brand new employee, I'm going to manage that employee differently in the kind of early days of their tenure versus once they become an experienced employee, especially if they are a good performer. That's really situational leadership, like in a little nugget. We find out the same things about God as we start to really look at his different names and his character traits. So you are introduced to these different names based on the situation that character in the Bible is facing or what's going to happen. So we're going to start with the name that I've discussed previous episodes, which is the great I am, Yahweh. So we really are first introduced to God's name of I am in Exodus 3.14. When Moses is speaking to God and says, When I go to Egypt and I tell your people that their God sent me, what's the name I should use? To mind you, give you a little context. This is when God calls Moses in the burning bush and he tells them, Hey, listen, I've heard the cries of my people and I am sending you to free my people from Pharaoh. Moses is already afraid to go to begin with, but he's like, Listen, what name should I use? And God responds and he says, I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I am sent me to you. Ha. Okay, I want us to just think about that for a minute. So can you imagine, right? Like we talked about like the magnitude of that name on a previous episode. I am. Because when we're introducing ourselves, right, as human beings, like I've said, hey, I'm Kathy, I am a mother. There's always something that follows that I am. But God says, I am who I am. First of all, let's think about the bravado behind that. That's another thing I love about God. God is direct, he is who he is. As scripture says, I am God and I am who I am. Unapologetic, God is who he is. I love that about my God. I love that about my God, especially as we think about ourselves and the fact that we are created in his image. As his children, there's a level of confidence we're supposed to have in our identity in Christ. It is that I may question who I am, but I know who God says I am. I am who I am says who I am. I mean, that is, I don't know if you feel it, but I think I needed to tell myself this today because sometimes I approach things and I'm fearful and I have anxiety. Lord, I want to, I want to do well. I don't know what I'm doing. And I almost feel like if I were God, I would slap me. I would be like, Kathy, you are who I say you are. That I am who I am says who I am. So I want you to think about that, right? Kind of marinate on that. God transcends both time and space. That means he goes into infinity before time began, he was. And once everything ceases, he will continue to be. So as I'm really thinking about that, I'm thinking, Lord, why the great I am? Like, because Moses obviously is scared. There are so many other character traits that I can think of, such as, you know, you know, I'm gonna be your provider, Moses. Chill, I got you. I'm the supplier of all of your needs. So I, you know, God is all that. So why I am who I am? Because if if we also think about it, I am who I am has a lot of question marks. Like, God, like, how many I ams are you? Like, who are who are you? But I think that's it. That's the beauty in that name. God already knew how the story would go. See, because God's other name, he's the Alpha and the Omega. See, that means he's the beginning and the end, and he is all-knowing. Before anything came to be, God was. And as I said before, as they cease, he will continue to be. So that means that God knew all that Moses, all of the obstacles and trials that not only Moses but the Israelites would face. He knew that they were going to need the Almighty God, El Shaddai, to whom we're introduced in Job. Meaning he's almighty, he can do all things. So they were gonna need that God. But he also knew Moses was already insecure about his ability to speak and the fact that he was a murderer and the fact that he'd been running. God knew all that. I was reminded as I was preparing for this episode that oftentimes in the kingdom of God, we are promoted before we have shown the ability to do the job for which God has called us. In your job, you're promoted once you have shown an ability to do what it is the new job, the new role is gonna ask you to do. You either have the skill set or you have the requisite experience. You there's something about you that says this person can take on this added responsibility or this new role. In the kingdom of God, it don't work that way. God will promote you before you have shown the ability to do what it is that He's calling you to do. He promoted David, a shepherd boy, to king at 15 years old, before David could do the job. He promoted Abraham to the father of many nations before the man even had a child. Ha! When you think about that, Esther was promoted to queen when Esther was an orphan and was part of a harem. That is the God that we serve. And sometimes you have got to know your God. You have got to know who he is, because sometimes you got to talk to yourself and you got to talk to your obstacles, and you have to talk to your circumstances in order to understand that I may not see and I may not understand, but I know who my God is. And he is a situational God, meaning, whatever I need in this situation, that's who my God is going to be, and that's how he's gonna come through. So with Moses' insecurities and all of the things that he was gonna have to face, God knew that Moses was going to need God, the lover of his soul. Because the immense pressure of the assignment, the weight of what God was calling Moses to do, God knew that Moses was going to need to know this God face to face, the only man to see God's face, because he was going to need to know God that intimately to face all that he was gonna have to face. See, Moses was going to need Jehovah Nisi, the Lord, our banner of victory, for the great battles that he and the Israelites would have to fight to claim what God had already promised them. When you know that God is your banner of victory, and you know that God, another name of his, is the commander of heaven's armies, huh? That Joshua is introduced to in chapter 5, verse 14, near Jericho, the one holding a sword. If I know that the God, the commander of heaven's armies, is fighting my battle, that's why I can say what the scripture says. If God is for me, who can be against me? So now when I think about some of the things that I have done in my life, the people that I have faced, the obstacles that I have faced with courage that I don't know where it came from, that's because I knew who was by my side. The commander of heaven's armies, he fights for us. He tells you that you need only be still. The victory is mine. I got you. I got you, baby girl. I got this. And it's important that we can hold on to that because sometimes we don't see it. We're blinded. All we see is that we're surrounded by obstacles, we're surrounded by enemies, we're surrounded by mountains that we can't climb. We can't climb on our own. And it reminds me of Elisha, who told his servant, close your eyes. Because, see, you're seeing with your natural eyes. You're gonna have to ask God. I'm gonna need you to see with spiritual eyes. I'm gonna need you to open your eyes and see the armies of angels that are surrounding you. See, because Elisha's servant saw, he was like, oh my gosh, we're outnumbered. We're outnumbered. How are we gonna do this? How are we gonna win this fight? And Elisha knew his God. See, Elisha knew that name of God, commander of heaven's armies. He goes, listen, we are surrounded by angels. We are surrounded on all sides. God's got this and he's got us. I will tell you that there are many times in my life where that God, the commander of angels' armies, has come to my defense, rescued me, and given me victory over my enemies when quite frankly, everything around me says that I shouldn't have won. And there's Jehovah Jyrah. See, Moses and the Israelites were gonna need him, God, our provider, the Lord who provides. See, Jyrah, Jyra is, ooh, Jyra, I know. And when the Israelites were in the wilderness and they were grumbling because they were hungry and they were remembering the pots of meat that they had left behind. Mind you, when they were enslaved. But see, sometimes when you're hungry, sometimes when there's a need that you have, that's all you can see. It's the 80-20 rule. It may be 20%. You got everything else taken care of. But that 20% is just nagging. And then it starts making itself look bigger. See, that's what was happening in the wilderness. The same God who had just parted the Red Sea for them. That same God who delivered them from Egypt, from Pharaoh's hand, the same God that when they were leaving Egypt made it so that he gave them favor, he anointed their heads in the presence of their enemies, so that they would be given gold and silver as they were leaving. That same God, they started doubting because they were hungry and they were grumbling. I've been guilty of that. I've been guilty of that. Because I will tell you right now, there are days just in this week, even knowing what I know about God, even having seen what I have seen God do in my life, I had the audacity to sit there and question like God, when where's this gonna come from? What when am I gonna get another job? And I am like, are you serious right now? After seeing what God has done for you, but you see, what I love about my God, which is why he's my favorite subject, is that he doesn't judge me on that. And he didn't judge the Israelites, he provided for them. Instead, they grumbled, he provided manna, bread from heaven, he even provided quail for them. And the beauty of the provision, I want us to remember this, the beauty of the provision is that God told them specifically, do not gather more than you need for today. There was only one day that they were supposed to gather enough for two days. And that was the day before the Sabbath, because they were supposed to have a Sabbath's rest. So that's to show you just how much God is a provider. He not only provides for us in terms of our needs, but he also knows that rest is an important and crucial need of ours that we often overlook. God even provides enough so that you can rest in his provisions. See, that's the thing about our gyra, is that he tells you, trust in me means that sometimes I need you to trust me day by day, step by step, moment by moment. Don't go borrowing from tomorrow when today I have provided enough. Because today we have God's presence, because today we have God's provision. So gyre is one that I there are stories we'll talk about this Jehovah and how many times my Jehovah Jyra has come through for me. I will tell you a song that I love is gyra by Maverick City because especially the time in my life that song came out. It was on repeat. I mean on repeat. Alexa knows Alexa can testify. I'm not gonna ask her to because she'll hear her name and start talking. Again, I'm gonna keep emphasizing this that the reason why I'm spending the time talking about this God's names is you're gonna need it. Listen, we are not promised an easy walk just because God is doing life with us. It's not. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us take up your cross. If you notice, he doesn't say you gotta carry it all on your own. There just has to be a willingness. We know that in this life we will have trouble. But God. Oh, I love those two words. But God. My God is with me and He will supply all that I need because He is the great I Am. So whatever my situation calls for, my God will be. So when I think about the names of God that we've looked at, the great I Am, which encompasses all of his other names, it really does speak to the confidence that we can have, courage and tenacity and strength that quite frankly is inexplicable in moments and in situations that the world tells us we should just roll yourself up in a little ball and just die. But God says otherwise. So when you're suffering and you feel alone, as I have in my life, as if no one sees me, and I feel marginalized by the world and quite frankly, not just unseen, but completely invisible, I'm reminded that my God is El Roy, the God who sees me. And what I love most about that name is the fact that Hagar says it in the Bible. See, Hagar was the Egyptian slave that Sarah gave to Abraham when she saw, well, time's passing and I'm not getting I haven't gotten pregnant yet. And God C has this promise, but I don't see how that's gonna come about. And like we tend to do as human beings, we feel like we can help God out. And we go ahead and we plan B it. Let me tell you something. When God makes a promise to you, God does not do plan B. God doesn't need to do plan B. When you are the Alpha and the Omega, you know everything. You don't need to do plan B. Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham, and then when exactly what she meant to happen happened, and Sarah didn't think it all through. Well, what do you think is gonna happen when Hagar is the one with the baby and you don't have no kid? And especially back then, you gave Hagar power, and then you resented her and her child for the power that you yourself surrendered to her. We do that often in life, guys, in trying to take control of our own story, and then we're not gonna be patient enough to wait for God and his timing. So I'm gonna make this work out because you know I'm gonna do this myself. And then Hagar, in her desperation, in the desert, facing what she thought was death, the end of her. God saw her and spoke to her and encouraged her. And she says, I have seen God, the God who sees me. As human beings, we have some intrinsic needs, and that includes feeling validated. Every human being on earth wants to feel validated, and when we are seen, it does, it makes you feel like you I have value because I am seen. And so when I think about the times when I have been in my darkest hour, no one could help. I couldn't help myself and no one else could. That's what God does. He sees us and he ministers to our soul. And then I think about the fact that the Israelites were leaving what they had known, the only life they had known, the only country that they had known, Egypt. And I thought, he knew, God knew that Moses and the Israelites were going to need the God that we were introduced to in Ezra and Nehemiah, the God who rebuilds. Guys, if you ever find yourself at a point in your life where things have come to an end, where doors have been closed that you didn't expect, things have been destroyed, relationships, whatever it may be, careers come to an end, and you don't know how you're gonna start over, take it from me. God has the ability to open doors that you could never open on your own, to give you strength and wisdom to rebuild stronger and better than what you once had. See, it takes knowing God and trusting his character, even when nothing makes sense. So as Easter approaches, I really couldn't help but think of Good Friday, especially as we're discussing the names of God, right? Jesus is God, the triune God. He is Son, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Easter is incredibly important, not only to the Christian faith, but also to all human beings. Because the reality is Christ died and rose again to save all human beings, not just those who call themselves Christians. So it's important that we talk about not just Easter as we discuss the names of God, but that we discuss what Good Friday means to all of us. Because again, Jesus came and did what the law could not do, meaning the Ten Commandments could not do, what we as human beings could not do on our own, which was to save ourselves. And that's also one of my other favorite names of God is Savior. He's our Savior and He's also our Redeemer because we were lost in sin. So we needed to be redeemed. And that's what Good Friday represents. So in thinking about all that, I can't help but think about Peter. I mean, all of the apostles really, but I'm going to focus on Peter. Because there are many times our circumstances, my own specifically, mirror what it must have felt like for the apostles during that holy week that they didn't even know was going to be holy yet. Meaning they had been on a high with Christ. They've spent three years living their lives with this man, with their rabbi, with their teacher, with their Lord, with their master. They have seen things with their eyes that they never thought they would see. They have seen the dead come to life. They have seen the blind see. They have seen him cast out demons. They have done things that they never thought they could. They have left all things behind because they believed that Jesus was who he said he was. So this is really what I think makes Good Friday and even Holy Thursday so heart-wrenching is that you know that they go through this three-year fellowship, friendship with Jesus, and they are walking with him. And in their minds, this is their, this is their messiah, their messiah and savior. And sometimes our idea of redemption or deliverance can be so far from what God actually means for it to be. What I mean by that is when we think of, and I'm sure that's probably how the apostles felt, was that they saw Jesus and they thought, well, he's the Messiah. He is going to dethrone the Roman Empire and is going to put Israel back to its rightful place, a place of glory. That's what they expected. And oftentimes, that's exactly how we view deliverance from God. When we are facing hard circumstances and hard seasons, we expect for God to come in guns ablazing, for lack of a better phrase. That's what we expect. And yet, as we are reminded often in scripture, God was not in the thunder, but God often comes in the whisper. And so as I think about Peter, as Jesus is arrested, and Peter is ready to take up his sword. And Jesus doesn't take up his sword and say, hey, let's go. There's no battle cry. But instead, Jesus heals the ear and he surrenders himself to his enemies. And I'm sure that Peter and the apostles are thinking, what is going on? This is not mathing. Like the math is not mathing. Like this does not compute. And as Jesus is taken away, Peter follows. And I'm sure part of the reason he follows is that he really believes that at the end of the day, something's gonna change, right? Jesus is gonna rise up like the commander of heaven's armies is going to rise up and rescue Jesus. But then as he watches from afar, that's not what happens. But instead, his Lord, his master, his savior is being questioned like a criminal. How can this be? Not a few days ago, Jesus was being heralded as they were walking into the city. People were throwing palm branches on the ground. They were throwing their garments on the ground and saying, singing Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest. They were just worshiping and adoring his king. And now the same king, Jesus, is shackled and imprisoned for what? So I'm sure as Peter is watching in horror as this is happening to not only his rabbi, his teacher, his friend, his savior, his Lord, but it's happening to him. It's happening to all of the apostles, all of those who gave up everything to follow Jesus. So I'm sure it was with that despair in mind. It was with all of that conflict and angst and emotion that as someone recognized Peter and they said, Aren't you one of his followers? And he denies Christ for the first time. No, I am not. I don't know what you're talking about. And then as he continues to watch again from afar, I'm sure with just helplessness, he's wondering, God, why aren't you doing something? This is your son. I was on the mountain when I saw Jesus be transfigured, when I saw him speaking to Moses and Elijah, and you said, This is your son. So why aren't you saving your son? But I'm sure that as Peter was saying this, he was also saying, Why aren't you saving us? And you see, this is what happens with us when we see God work great miracles in our lives and we're at the mountaintop. But then things come our way and we are facing things that we never thought we'd face. And we're like, wait a minute, Lord, I followed everything you told me. I did everything you told me to do. Why is this so challenging? Why aren't we winning? Because see, somewhere in our minds, we believe that if God is doing life with us, that if we are following God's instructions, if we are within God's will, if we are doing all that He has told us to do, that somehow that promises us a life free of suffering, of pain, of injustice. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that. But as human beings, that is often what we expect and how we interpret being delivered or redeemed from an unfavorable situation. So it is important that as we really think about again what the apostles went through, what they might have been thinking on that holy Thursday when all seemed lost. That's the thing with life. Even when you walk with God, you go one moment from seeing God work miracles in your life and everything looking up and looking roses. Things start to turn and you start questioning your faith. And see, that's the thing. God knows this. And you might even start to question God's character, who he is, and who he says he is. And that is hard enough, as we saw with Peter. But God, that's why it's so important that you know who God is, that you read scripture, that you know scripture, and that you remind yourself of the ways that God has come through for you. To know, remember, we talked about that, is to have a deep knowledge, to be familiar with Him, to believe sometimes without tangible evidence. See, Good Friday is a good lesson for us all as human beings, that all is not always as it seems. Faith itself is a supernatural thing, guys. I'm sure if you asked any of the apostles or Jesus' mother and the women who followed him, if by Sunday they'd be celebrating, I'm sure they would tell you, no, you were crazy. They were preparing to mourn, but God, see, in the midst of our circumstances, like their circumstances, the apostles and everyone stopped focusing on Jesus. They forgot who he was. They forgot what the prophecy and what scripture had promised. They forgot, or maybe they doubted who Jesus said he was at that moment and who God said he was, and what they themselves experienced and witnessed him do. Then came Easter. Before Easter, there had to be a Good Friday. Easter wouldn't have the significance that it has without a good Friday. Rescue requires sacrifice. Salvation, guys, it has a cost. A miracle requires a need. And before every morning, there is a midnight. So when you face the Good Fridays of your life, when you come against the sacrifices we're called to meet, the needs that you have that are crying for a miracle of Old Testament magnitude, when you come against the jericho walls of your life, or the prolonged midnights, or the walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I need you to remember that our God is also a good shepherd whose rod and staff will comfort you and will comfort me, that although we are carrying our cross, we know that our Redeemer lives and he has already paid the price. It is important to know who God is so that you can remind not only yourself but your circumstances that your God is the great I am. And he has never lost a battle and he won't start now. So we're gonna end with a prayer. God, I thank you. I thank you for this time that we got to spend together to talk about who you are, Lord, to talk about your names, to talk about all that you are to us. Father, I pray for everyone that is listening. I pray, Lord, that for those who do not know you, that they would come to know you, or at least that they would have some curiosity about who this great I am is. That, Lord, that they would come to know you as their gyrah, as their provider, that they would come to know you as the lover of their souls, that they would come to know Jesus as their redeemer, as their savior, that they would come to know the commander of heaven's armies. Lord, I pray for every life right now that they may be touched by you, that they would be comforted, O Lord, by the great comfort, that for everyone who is broken, that they would be healed, for everyone who is lonely, Lord, that they would know the one who is closer than a brother. Father, I pray your presence in all of our lives, Lord. And it is in your holy and mighty name Jesus, I pray. Amen.