From Blah to JAH!

Blah to JAH

Blah to JAH

My Sunday morning this week began with the “blahs”.  You know those days when you just drag yourself out of bed and throughout your day.  There is nothing in particular wrong, you just feel…blah!  During worship, one of the songs we sang was about God as the great I AM.  As we sang of the Great I AM, that phrase —I AM— struck me in a new way.

I am…it’s a phrase I use and think about often, even subconsciously.  Think with me here…

  • I am tired.
  • I am hungry.
  • I am thirsty.
  • I am cold.
  • I am hot.
  • I am frustrated.
  • I am bored.
  • I am mad.
  • I am sad.
  • I am unappreciated.
  • I am happy.
  • I am excited.
  • I am a daughter.
  • I am a wife.
  • I am a mother.
  • I am busy.
  • I am blah.

I think you get the point.  Sometimes I get so focused on myself, “I am”, that I fail to recognize the great I AM.  I think this might be the source of those “blah” days many times, because I am too self-focused.  God reveals himself to Moses as the great I AM in Exodus.  Moses was having a tough day.  Faced with a task he was not sure of and feeling inadequate in.

God said to Moses, “ I AM who I AM.” And he said, “ Say this to the people of Israel, ‘ I am has sent me to you. ’” God also said to Moses, “ Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. ’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Exodus 3:14-16

God reveals himself as Yahweh/Jehovah —LORD.  It is the name by which He has been know from the creation of the world and it is His forever name. It is the proper name of God.  Yahweh/Jehovah translates “He who is”. It is essentially the same name in the preceding verse when He says, I AM who I AM, meaning “He who is” and He subsists in a manner superior to all other beings!  He is the self-existent, all sufficient One. He is the One who was, who IS and who will be. His name Yahweh/Jehovah, LORD, is often compounded with another word to describe the character of the Lord in greater detail.  For example, Jehovah-Jireh in Genesis 22:14, the LORD who provides or in Exodus 17:15, Jehovah-Nissi, the LORD is my banner.

One of my favorite names of God in Scripture is the contracted form of this name, Jehovah/Yahweh which is JAH and means He IS!  (Note: In the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, they print JAH whenever this contracted form of the Lord God appears.  It is found particularly in the Psalms).  So often I need that.  I need to know that He IS in this moment.  That He IS sovereign.  That He IS all-powerful.  That He IS unfailing love and so much more. There is great comfort for me in knowing God IS present in my every moment.

Therefore, HE is to be the object and focus of my worship, because He alone is worthy.  And when I focus on the greatness of the Great I AM, my preoccupation with self diminishes.  And the amazing thing is, instead of feeling empty and “blah”, I end up being filled with the power of His presence.  I experience His joy, peace, love, acceptance and comfort in my life, and my heart and soul just SOAR!  I experience this because HE is!  He is present in this moment.

This is what I experienced Sunday. Having begun my day with the blahs, I was suddenly energized, excited and ready to go conquer my world because JAH, He IS!

So join me in making it a habit to focus on the great I AM!  Remember He IS, JAH!  Focusing on and praising Him for who He IS turns a blah day into a JAH day!

Know therefore that the LORD [Jehovah/Yahweh] your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. Deuteronomy 7:9

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©2013 Susan Cady, susancady.com

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Susan Cady

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