Can you describe God in only ONE word?!

I wonder if we do a disservice to our non-Christian friends, if not to God himself, when we only "advertise" Him as the LOVING God... Jesus loves you! God is Love! "Well John 3:16 says..." Yes, yes God did love the world enough to send his Son... its a well-known verse. God DOES love his children... however, it is a holy love. He also has holy justice, holy mercy, holy wrath... do we see a common pattern? In Scripture a word will be repeated to emphasize its importance (ex: Christ would say "truly, truly I say to you..."). Not that something can be doubly-true, but we get the feeling Christ is really trying to get our attention... the Teacher is rapping their ruler on the desk. What if the word was used three times? Triplified! [my own word]

Change gears briefly with me, but I'll tie it all together later... How would you describe yourself in ONE WORD? Nice? Cute? Moody? Fickle? Which one attribute of God would you pick to describe Him? This is a great conversation starter with anyone who states belief in the God of the Bible. Almost without fail, most people will pick the word L.O.V.E. as the most important, relevant, and complete description of our Almighty Father. I humbly submit that we have unintentionally emasculated our deity! We want a blue-eyed, gray-haired, kindly old granddad-God to sit us on his knee. WHAT?! Did loving Gramps kill thousands of first-born children in Egypt on the night of the first Passover? Did sweet Mr. Rogers order the Israelites to execute every man, woman, child & even all the livestock during the destruction of the Amalekites? You will never hear THAT Bible story told in Sunday School [check it out: 1 Samuel 15]!!

Jehovah-Sabaoth is the fierce commander of the armies of God! Behold, the LION of the Tribe of Judah has triumphed! Lions aren't cuddly or particularly "lovey-dovey"... why do you think they have tall walls, moats and other barriers at the zoo?! Within the allegorical book "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe", a child asked if the fictional lion Aslan was "safe" because they wanted to pet him. Another character answered sagely, "Safe?!? No, he is not safe... but he is GOOD!"

So which one word would I use to describe "Our Lawgiver" (Isaiah 33:22), "Our Wall of Fire" (Zech 2:5) and "Our Purifier" (Malachi 3:3)? Which one attribute most fully depicts "Jehovah, Mighty in Battle" (Psalm 24:8), "The Captain of the Host of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14) and the "King of Glory" ( Psalm 24:10)? I am but a lowly servant of "The Rock of My Salvation" (2 Sam 22:47) and do not presume to have seen the face of "The Chiefest of Among Ten Thousand" (Song of Solomon 5:10). However, there are creatures whose sole purpose is to incessantly and without fail bestow praise & honor upon "The God of the Whole Earth" (Isaiah 54:5). These heavenly beings utter but one word, one embodiment of "The Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 4:2)! Scripture reveals they repeat this singular description THREE times to place extreme emphasis (aka, "triplified")!

Do I have you on the edge of your seat? Shall we take a peek into the throne room of El Elyon (the Most High God)? As you approach the Throne of Grace what one word now springs to your tongue, indeed it pounds within your brain, slices through your body & forces you to lay prostrate and beg mercy before Jehovah-M'Kaddesh? This last name holds the key... can you guess what it is that Scripture and truly all of Creation cries out as being the very essence of our King of Kings?

Tell me what one word rises on the wings of the dawn... tell me who is this God of yours... tell me who is this King of Glory... go ahead, tell me!

She stands alone before God

God has been teaching me a BIG lesson over the last couple weeks.  It all started when Izzy took the stage for her very first dance solo at competition.  She woke up confident, rested, and prepared for what she had to do.  She had worked hard for 6 months leading up to this one moment and she was ready to set the stage on fire for God! I kissed her for good luck, then I went and sat in the audience as my baby girl walked, by herself, into the spotlight and faced the judges.  I could no longer help her.  All I could do was watch. Watch and pray! 

The music started and I watched her face light up!  She was in her element. She was worshiping God through dancing and it was AMAZING to watch.  Then, it happened... She fell.  She fell on a skill that she had done countless times before with no problem.  I sat there and watched as the confidence drained from her face, but being the competitor that she is, she got up, smiled at the judges and continued her dance.  Then, I realized that in the midst of her fall, she had forgotten her choreography.  She forgot the steps that she has had memorized for 6 months. And then, because the enemy doesn't stop attacking after one fall, she fell again towards the end of her dance.  When Satan sees someone doing BIG things for the Kingdom of God, he hits them hard.  He wasn't backing down... he was trying everything he could to bring her down.

My heart was breaking for my sweet girl.  I sat in the audience and watched her struggle.  I wanted to run up on stage and tell her that it was going to be ok. I wanted to hug her. I wanted her to know that she was doing a great job and that I was proud of her.  I wanted to make excuses for her.  I wanted to tell the judges that it was early in the morning and she was tired, or ask them to be lenient on her since it was her first competition.  Instead, I sat frozen in my chair, tears flowing down my face, surrounded by other dance moms who felt my heartache with me.

So where in all this is my lesson?  Through this experience, God has made it clear that one day, Izzy will have to stand alone, before her ultimate Judge, without me.  I can make sure she is prepared for her Christian walk, I can teach her what I know, and I can surround her with like-minded people.   I can make sure she has the best teachers, pastors, and friends, but eventually she WILL fall. She WILL stumble. She WILL forget what she has learned.  In Acts 14 we are reminded that "through MANY hardships, we must enter the Kingdom of God".  Not some, not a few, but MANY.  It's guaranteed in our Christian walk that WILL fall, stumble and forget our way. 

What I'm learning is that I cannot help her in these moments. I cannot make excuses for her or comfort her. I can pray for her and encourage her.  I can cheer her on from the sideline, but she has to do it alone. On that final day, when she steps into the spotlight at the pearly gates and stands before our supreme Judge, I cannot hold her hand.  God will not want to hear my excuses.  He will not ask me if she was prepared or if she practiced her faith.  She will stand alone and answer to Him alone.  I can only watch from the audience, praying for her while surrounded by other mama's whose daughters are next.