WINNER!

As I mentioned in my previous post, El Roi, I'm in the process of learning about the different names of God in order to learn more about his character. The name I'm studying is Redeemer. For those who don't know me well enough, I've grown up in church my whole life. I've been taught about scripture for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure about anyone else who has grown up in church, but the terminology used can become a habit. I know I tend to just say things without really thinking about the meaning. This is because I've used it for so long that I tend to not really think about what I'm saying. This happened for me for the name Redeemer. So I decided to go back to the basics, to research what the word "redeemer" means. According to Websters Dictionary, redeemer means: a person who redeems. So I then researched the word redeem, which means: 1a. to buy back; purchase b. to get or win back, 2. to free from what distresses or harms a. to free from captivity by payment of ransom b. to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental.

So if God's name is redeemer, I've come up with his name meaning: a person who has rescued someone or something from harm or distress, he had to pay a price, for what he was seeking was not free and would require him giving something/ sacrificing something he had. Our Redeemer is what keeps us from being merely dirt. It's really cool to see him in this kind of light. It's like going to your old playground and being reminded of how much you love to be on swings! Even though you knew you loved swings, to actually be on the swing and be swinging you feel the excitement plus a little extra than from the time before. That's kinda how I feel as I go back and remind myself who God really is.

Thank you Jesus, thank you for giving so that I'm set free from eternal harm. Thank you!

El Roi

It's been a while since I've been able to write. The past few weeks have been pure chaos. I can't believe we're already over half way through March. I literally feel like I have blinked this month away. The funny thing is I remember looking at the calendar and seeing that this month had 31 day in it and thinking "Man, this is going to be a long month." Boy have I been proven wrong!

I want to give a little testimony from my previous blog, Can We Please Talk About This. I talked about how the Lord directed me to keep silent about an issue I was sensing. Despite how much I wanted to do the exact opposite of what he told me to do, I was obedient and didn't confront anything. Well I'm glad I did, because the person ended up coming and talking to me. It was really cool because I'm almost positive she didn't read that blog and the Lord told me to just pray for her instead of confronting. Turns out she was in need of those prayers I was lifting up for her. It's just so awesome when he shows you why he asked you to do something. I was so encouraged when she finally talked to me. It made my heart so happy! I'm so grateful for how God has provided such wonderful people in my life. I'm also very grateful that he allows them to stay in my life.

These past few weeks have flown by so quickly because they have come with many struggles. The Lord has held me through each passing struggle and I'm happy to say that I've made it out stronger! Now the Lord is allowing me to see more and more of myself. He's helping me see some mind sets that need to be changed and some actions that need to change. Most importantly, He's wanting me to really really really know Him. More specifically, he wants me to know him by his names. Yes, plural, nameS. I recently have read two separate books and each have mentioned the names of God. When I read about it in the second book, I was like, "Ok, I'm getting the hint that I need to know you by all your names." I've come to find that in my walk with Christ, I get caught up in only parts of him and neglect other parts. In one of the books I read it said, "God's names are a promise of who He is. We learn to trust Him as we come to know Him in the way He is described in the Bible, based on His character." Recently I came to realize that a person who has been in my life for many years not only didn't know some characteristics of me, but wasn't accepting of them either. I wasn't hurt by the fact that they weren't accepted as much as I was hurt by the fact that they didn't know these things. These were things that everyone else in my life figured out within a few months of knowing me, but after years of knowing me, this person made it very clear that they did not know about this characteristic of me. It really hurt. After going through this experience, I realized how important it is for me to know the characteristics of the God I serve. It's ok to know an acquaintance by whats on the surface level, but what makes a friendship or a relationship with someone is knowing more than what's on the surface. God revealed to me that I was only looking to parts of who he is and neglecting other characteristics that I NEED to know. Many of the insecurities I've been feeling are due to emptiness I have inside. God is showing me that I've been searching in all the wrong places and all the wrong ways to fill these empty holes, when all along, he's been here having the solution for these holes yet I haven't been diligent enough to discover more of him. Therefore, I've been living with empty holes that can only be filled by him and his character. 

I'm going to spend each week learning and know these characteristics of God. The first name that struck me and hit him with me is the name El Roi, meaning The God Who See's Me. Ironically enough (or not) I friend of mine posted a status today about this name that said, "{El-Roeh} God, the One who sees~ This name of God reveals God's beneficent omnipresence; a God who sees the needs of His people and cares enough to respond with help and deliverance. 

(see Genesis 16:8, 13). ~ NIV Archeological Study Bible// it's amazing that the creator of the universe sees me & sees you... He sees us & loves us, despite of us. Thank You, Lord for seeing me... Help me to see You more..To be more aware of You- Your direction, leading, peace, joy, & work."

It's so refreshing to know that he see's me! I can't tell you how much this means to me. It feels so good to know that he SEE'S me! ME! And he see's you too. I'm going to end on that note, because I just love dwelling in this truth, I hope you do too :-)

(P.S. I'll continue to write and share about the names of God as I study more and learn more about each one.)