Jehovah-Shammah
Have you ever experienced hurt or loss because someone was not there? I know I have experienced it – from both sides. The one side that fails to act when I should have, and the other that feels the pain and damage when a person is not acting on your behalf. Recently, as I was reflecting on the pain and damage these types of actions have brought into our family, I heard the Lord speak over my lament to remember He was my Jehovah- Shammah.
“And the name of the city from that time on will be: The LORD [Jehovah- Shammah] is There.” Ezekiel 48:35 ESV
In context, Ezekiel is writing about the vision given to him of heaven, but for those of us who are in Christ, this is our everyday present reality. (Matthew 6:10, Ephesians 1:3.) How? The moment we put our faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, forever ensuring that the Lord our God is always there (Ephesians 1:13-14).
This name of God, revealed here in the Ezekiel passage, reminds us that the LORD is always present and attentive to all our needs. I have missed this truth because oftentimes I measure His presence and care in my life based on the results I can see. I never consider all the things I’ve never experienced because He’s acted on my behalf. All I tend to hold against God is what I perceive I needed most in my pain that He failed to deliver.
These things include justice, healing or making the impossible possible. But what if my perspective is wrong? What if I am missing that the LORD being there actually fills my greatest need? To not suffer alone, to have a witness to advocate and testify on my behalf to every hurtful word and deed done against me, to have someone to cry with me and wipe away all my tears and even better yet, sustain me so that I don’t crumble?
Because God is there, it means He never misses caring for our needs; not just the ones to come but the ones in the immediate moment. His unlimited knowledge of our situation means He knows how and where we need help, hope and justice. His absolute power gives Him the means to do it and His unfathomable wisdom and understanding knows exactly when and how to bring healing, reconciliation or a way out of whatever we are facing. Perhaps the best part is He is not bound by time – if He doesn’t act right then, He won’t lose the opportunity for justice or a miracle later. Rather, His transcendent nature allows Him to go behind us and ahead of us, but oftentimes in the greatest degree of pain, fear and anxiety He chooses right beside us.
Let me end with this question: Do you know Jehovah-Shammah, the One who is there? I know being reminded of this has changed my whole perspective. I see He has always been there, is there right now, and will always be there to meet my needs in every possible way. I want to encourage you to find peace and solace in this truth as well. We don’t always realize our greatest need in the moment of difficulty isn’t for God to go and fix it. He knows having Him there to sustain and comfort us matters most because without Him there, grief, heartbreak, hopelessness, fear or anxiety, might be the very things to crimple us to a point of no return. We have the choice to let go of what we think we need most, even when it’s healing, justice or defense, and instead enjoy the comfort, love and intimacy that comes from never being without the God who is always there.
