Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands... [Nehemiah 1.5]
Nehemiah inadvertently revealed something about God is his address to Him. He first addresses Him by His name, Yahweh (translated LORD), but then also proceeded to further define Him as God of heaven, the great and awesome God Who keeps His covenant of unfailing love with those who love Him and obey His commands.
The thing is, Nehemiah was not the first to practice this clarification of God in his address to Him. Throughout the Bible, God is addressed over and over in defining terms of His character.
It is important to understand who we are speaking to. It is important to tell others who we are speaking to.
We do this all the time ourselves. It may be as simple as introducing a friend, "the pastor of our church," or Julie, "the mayor of our city." My wife and I often mention, Joe & Averyl "our missionary friends in Africa."
So it is not unusual to give clarity, when speaking to, or referring to God, "our loving and forgiving Father," or "Creator of the Universe," or "Sustainer of all life," or "our healer," or "our provider,"... and the list goes on and on. Not only is it not unusual, but quite a good practice to remind ourselves and those around us Who God is - to define His character accurately when speaking of Him.
And yet, with all the definition of God's character found throughout the Bible, people still have mistaken ideas about God.
I think the problem is found in people defining God by their own experience rather than by the Bible and what God Himself declares His character to be. Is God defined by our experience or by His declaration?
I'll go with His declaration, thank you.
Father, forgive me for ever defining You (consciously or unconsciously) by my experiences instead of by Your Word. Help me to declare Who You Are as it is revealed in the Bible even when my experiences don't seem to line up...
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