When the Name of God

...crushes our idols !

Ps. 8:1 “O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout all the earth! Your majesty rises above the heavens.”

We live in a world where “names” matter: reputation, image, influence, brand, feedback, followers…
All of this can seem to give importance to man, but David begins by putting order back into all of it: above every name, there is the Name of the Lord !

This verse should be a gateway to our praise and worship.
This proclamation, as we say, puts things back on level ground—and God back in His place! God is above everything, and we would be feeble and miserable beings here on earth if it were not for His grace that lifts us up and strengthens us. This proclamation “sets the clocks right” for those who still thought they were “somebody” in this world! Our God is above everything and controls everything! He reminds us that there is nothing above Him in all the universe and that He holds everything under His feet; He is unchanging in His holiness and His essence!

David, in this psalm, helps us understand that God is also close to us, since he calls Him his Lord!
He is the Lord: the God who does not change, who is not subject to cycles, trends, or crises!

God has given us His Word, and it is not negotiable; it is up to us to adapt to it! God remains the same forever; He does not do “updates” to meet the expectations of those who would like Him to approve their actions and thoughts!

Yes, certainly, this verse strongly affirms that if everything is shifting around you, you can lean on the One who does not change. Malachi 3:6
And when you feel alone, you remember: He is “our Lord,” not a distant God.
So if God is Lord, it is not I who defines reality: it is He.

…“How magnificent is Your name throughout all the earth”: what a wonderful declaration! We should proclaim it continually.

In the Bible, His “Name” is synonymous with character, holiness, faithfulness, truth, power, and goodness.

We don’t just have to think that God has a “beautiful name,” but that God is admirable in all that He is and all that He does. The problem in many Christian lives is not that God is not present enough… it’s that God is no longer big enough.”

— Spiritual awakening often begins right there: if God becomes great again, sin becomes despicable and detestable.
Where God is small, man becomes enormous and sin becomes acceptable; and the Gospel loses its substance!

The Name of God should be seen in our words, our choices, our marriage, our finances, forgiveness, justice, truth.
Let us examine ourselves!

— Does our faith revolve around God… or around us?
— What idol competes with the name of God in my life?
— We are invited to put the “majesty of God” back at the center; if it rises back to its rightful place, everything else will come down to its proper place.”

“O Lord, our Lord, forgive us when Your Name becomes secondary. Restore to us wonder, the fear of God, and an aligned heart. May Your majesty crush our idols and raise up our faith. Amen.”

Franz