I was giving some motherly advice to my college-aged daughter, listing several different suggestions on how she might handle a situation she was facing. As I talked, my daughter looked more and more annoyed. Finally, she said, “Mom, stop trying to fix it!”
Oops. I was trying to help the little girl I saw in my mind’s eye, whose problems were fixed with a bandage and a hug. But the young woman in front of me didn’t want her mom to fix it—and fixing the problem might not even have been possible. She wanted empathy and a listening ear.
When my kids run into difficulties, I automatically want to step in and fix the problem. But as they grow into adulthood, both they and I are learning that not everything is fixable. Relationship struggles, chronic physical or mental illness, grief over losing a loved one, the tragedies we see in the news—it can all feel overwhelming. We run out of solutions quickly. Then we face a choice. Do we give in to despair or bitterness because life is harder than we expect? Or do we look outside of ourselves for the hope and endurance we need to live with the “unfixable”?
Hope That Does Not Disappoint
In Romans, Paul doesn’t tell Christians just to grit their teeth and “power through” tough times. No, Paul exhorts us to rejoice not just in God, but also in our suffering.
Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:2–5)
Some translations of verse 5 use some form of “hope does not put us to shame,” and other translations use “hope does not disappoint (us).” When I try to solve problems on my own, using my own very fallible “wisdom,” my hope often disappoints. Even hope that God will take away or completely resolve problems can disappoint, especially when I expect God to conform to my demands.
Where, or rather, in whom we place our hope matters. Releasing our selfish expectations and our futile efforts to solve problems (ours or others’) by ourselves changes us. Trusting God with “the unfixable” helps us to hope in God Himself and in the love that He has given us. As Paul points out, the very experiences of suffering that we naturally wish to avoid can give us endurance, character, and, yes, hope.
What’s in a Name?
The better we know someone, the more likely we are to trust that person. In the same way, the more we know God—His character, His personality, His love for us—the easier it is to place our trust and hope in Him.
In the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament, God’s people use different names or name variations for God as He reveals different parts of Himself. Because God is God, and we are His creatures, we can never know God in all His glory and fullness. But each name of God in the Bible reflects some part of His character and actions. As we get to know each name, we get to know more of God Himself.
Depending on our need, we can call on the name of Adonai, or Yahweh Rapha, or El Chay. We can call on Jesus, our Savior; Jesus, the Living Water; Jesus, the Shepherd; and more. As we pray using His name(s), we learn to rely on God alone for our hope.
Calling on the Lord
Even today, we hear ways of addressing God that highlight various parts of His character. Our DCE often begins her prayers with “Awesome God.” When leading children in prayer, our pastors often begin with “Dear Jesus.” I tend to use “Father”; others use “Lord.”
Many biblical names are more specific than those we use in English. For example, Adonai means “lord” or “sovereign.” We may want to call on Adonai when we need to remember that God is in charge, not us. We might call on Yahweh Rapha, God our healer, when we or loved ones long to be healed in body, mind, or spirit. When we face a tough battle, Yahweh Tsebaoth, the Lord of hosts (heavenly armies), comes to our aid. When we feel parched in life’s deserts, we call on Jesus, the Fount of Living Water, to refresh us and remind us of our Baptism.
Name Above All Names
No matter which of God’s names we use, we know God best through Jesus. The Gospel of John talks of Jesus as the Word made flesh (another name!) and the one who makes God known to us: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known” (John 1:18).
Our ultimate hope is Jesus, in whom “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). We can release our sins and troubles to Jesus, the Crucified One, who knows suffering and died to forgive our sin. We can rejoice, even while grieving, that Jesus, the Risen One, defeated death and rose for our sake. We can rest in God’s promise that Jesus, our Living Hope, will one day make all things new. And we can look forward to the day when the Alpha and the Omega shows us our own names written in the Book of Life.
Scripture: ESV®.
There is so much to be learned from the names for God in the Bible. Explore eight names and characteristics in Michelle Diercks’s Bible study, Promised Hope: Finding Peace in God’s Faithfulness.
