The Great "I Am": Understanding God's Character Through His Names

What image flashes in your mind when someone mentions Coca-Cola or Nike? Companies spend millions ensuring their names instantly conjure specific mental pictures. But what about when you hear the name "God"? It's often harder to define, sometimes leaving us with a fuzzy understanding of who He truly is.
Danny guides us through several powerful names that speak directly to our current circumstances: These aren't just ancient titles but living descriptions of a God who meets us precisely where we are. In particularly turbulent times, Danny highlights how we desperately need both the healing and peace that God offers through His character.
What do you need God to be for you today? As you consider His many names, you might discover He's already revealed Himself as the answer to your specific situation. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning.
I am Danny Mac and you'relistening to Starting Right.
Every weekday morning, I'mgoing to be here to share
stories of life and hope fromGod's Word.
So grab a cup of coffee, sitback and relax for the next five
minutes as I help you startyour day by starting right.
Sit back and relax for the nextfive minutes as I help you

(00:27):
start your day by starting right.
You know that companies andtheir advertising agencies spend
a tremendous amount of moneytrying to get each of us to
recognize their company namesand as soon as that name is said
, they want us to have thispicture in our minds as to what
that item is that they're tryingto sell us.
Let me show you what I mean.
Coca-cola you get a picture inyour mind of a bottle of

(00:50):
Coca-Cola or maybe a can ofCoca-Cola.
How about Nike?
Nike makes you think of runningshoes or of athletic wear.
At the very least, you see thatswoop that belongs to Nike in
their design.
How about McDonald's?
The picture of the goldenarches fills your mind almost
immediately when you think aboutMcDonald's.

(01:10):
When I was growing up, ifsomebody came to me and said,
hey, I just got myself a newMustang, I didn't think they
just purchased a horse.
I knew that they just got a newcar.
Names are important becausethey give to us in our minds, an
understanding, a picture ofwhat we believe that thing is.
But what about this?

(01:31):
What picture do you get in yourmind when I say the name God?
It's a little bit harder todefine sometimes.
It's very easy for us to seeit's great and glorious, it's
powerful, but we don't know whatGod looks like, and so we
sometimes have this fuzzyunderstanding of what he really
is and what he really is likebecause we only know him maybe
as God.
It's important, particularlywhere we are in this world and

(01:53):
in this time, to remindourselves who we mean when we
talk about God.
In the book of Exodus, moses hadbeen living out in the back
desert for a long time, and Godcame to him and spoke to him and
said Now, moses, I want you togo back to Egypt and to lead my
people of Israel out of slaveryfrom the Egyptians.

(02:14):
Moses argued with him for awhile and then, in chapter 3,
verse 13, he said Suppose I goto the Israelites and say to
them the God of your fathers hassent me to you, and they ask me
what is his name, then?
What shall I tell them?
God said to Moses I am who I am.
This is what you are to say tothe Israelites I am has sent me

(02:36):
to you.
That name I am encapsulates allof the things that God is for
us.
It's God saying I am who youneed me to be when you need me
to be it.
But throughout the Old Testamentthere are many other names.
There's over a hundred othernames of God that we hear and we

(02:56):
learn, and each one of thosenames describes a little bit
more of his character to us, sothat we can understand who God
really is.
For the sake of time, I'm goingto share just a few of these
with you this morning, namesthat I think that we need to
remind ourselves of.
One of those names is ElShaddai.
That means the Lord, godAlmighty, all-powerful, able to

(03:16):
do anything and everything thatwe need.
Jehovah-raha the Lord is myshepherd.
He will guide me, he willprotect me.
Jehovah Rafa he is the God whoheals us.
He is our healing power when weneed it.
Jehovah Shama the Lord is there.
He's with you right now.

(03:37):
Jehovah Tzidkenu he is the Lordwho makes us right before him.
He is the Lord who makes usright before Him.
El Olam, the everlasting God.
He is the same yesterday, todayand forever.
Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, willprovide.
Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, isour peace.

(03:59):
What do you need God to do foryou right now?
Maybe in one of those namesthere's something specific for
you.
I know that in those names thereare two of them specifically
that we need for our worldaround us right now.
Jehovah Rapha, the Lord, thatheals Our land, and our lives

(04:20):
need to be healed.
Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, ispeace.
This morning, as we movethrough another week of rather
tumultuous times, we have a Godwho is the great I Am.
He is everything that you needHim to be right now, when you
need Him to be it.
When you talk about God, get apicture in your mind of what it

(04:40):
is that you need and what he canprovide and guide and lead you
in for your life right now,because that is who he is and he
loves you that much.
Have a great day, everyone.
We'll talk to you againtomorrow.
Thank you for listening todayand I invite you to join me

(05:01):
Monday to Friday, right here onStarting Right with Danny Mac.