Holy is Your Name

I didn't sleep well last night. I woke up this morning to the news that one of my friends had died in automobile accident. I was crushed. Not just because a friend was gone, but because it just seemed like one more thing. Lately it seems like the world is falling apart. The news is never joyful. My Facebook feed constantly reminds me that humans have more care for animals then they do for each other. My job is full of conflict.

It seems that everywhere I turn I cannot escape the pain and the sin in this world. So this morning when I heard the news I cried. I cried in bed. I took a shower and cried there. I got out of the shower and I cried. And I realized one thing. This world is shifting and untrustworthy. But I serve a God who is holy. I serve a God whose very name is a rock. And this morning I clung to that rock.

When Cold Winds Blow

Over a month ago I talked about Scars. I said that we all carry the wounds of past hurts with us. I mentioned that we have a choice. We can let these scars continue to hurt us. We can focus on the bad that happened and in turn become bitter evil people. Or we can choose to see them as something that God has used to make us better. 

I ended with an analogy of cold winds and talked about how there are times in our life when things happen that inflame these old wounds. Last weekend was one of these for me. I learned that God is with us even through these. I learned that God gives us people to help us through these times.

Scars

So there is this passage in Genesis that struck me the other day. It is after Jacob wrestles with God. Jacob names the place Peniel. This is Hebrew and it means face of God. But what struck me was what Jacob said. He said that he had seen God face to face and had been preserved.

Preserved? Really?

In case you didn't know, God gave Jacob a limp. Seems interesting to think that preservation meant a limp. Some might say God cheated since he couldn't beat Jacob. But frankly I think that is a bad interpretation. I think this was God's way of reminding Jacob that God was always with him. Jacob's scar became something to treasure and not to disdain.