​If you are anything like me and you are on social media, watching the news, or simply talking to others, you are being inundated with information, opinions and ideas related to the current social situation in our country. I have heard or read more on issues of race and social injustice in the past 2 weeks than I can remember ever having done before. Sometimes it is difficult to parse what is useful from what is not. Many people smarter and more informed than I have written or spoken in ways that I admire and that resonate with me.
 
I honestly have no desire to add useless chatter but writing helps me frame my thoughts and process what God might be doing in and around me. So if you find this encouraging, great. If not, that’s OK – it certainly helped me.
 
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
- A man is choked to death by the authorities while those standing around do nothing.
- A young man is chased down and shot while jogging.
- A man is assaulted verbally and harassed while doing nothing but bird watching.
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
- People riot and damage property in protest of injustice.
- Rhetoric and verbal abuse increases in volume and intensity.
- Violence begets more violence.
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
- Politicians and those in power use the situation to advance their own selfish ends.
- Leaders foment division and strife.
- Hatred, anger, justification and defensiveness seem to be on the rise.
  . . . and this is all in just the last 2 weeks.
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
- 2020 has seen a virus sweep the globe killing hundreds of thousands.
- Governments have used the situation to grab and grasp for power.
- Churches and small business are shut down and millions are out of work.
- Vast parts of earth are threatened with starvation and economic ruin.
- Anxiety, depression, and suicides increase.
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
 
It seems like a time of chaos. Unfairness. Helplessness. A time that prompts the kind of dialogue I like to avoid. If I’m honest, I am tempted to turn off the news, hunker down, and come back up for air when things have returned back to some semblance of normal. But maybe what I really mean is that I want to return to what is comfortable. I began to consider that perhaps, as a follow of Jesus, I might be asking the right question with the wrong emphasis. Maybe in the midst of all that looks horrible and the actions that reveal the selfishness of humanity, there IS something going on. Something that has the opportunity to be good.
 
WHAT IS GOING ON?
- Perhaps God is at work.
- Maybe he knows how to bring beauty from ashes.
- Just maybe, God knows how to use bad for good purposes.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
- Maybe we are finally having the right conversations.
- Personal convictions and motivations are being challenged.
- My own racist tendencies are being revealed by a loving father who wants me to deal with them.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
- Perhaps God is calling his church to a greater and visible role in justice and mercy.
- Maybe he is challenging long-held and erroneous assumptions.
- Maybe he is opening the door for real and long-lasting reconciliation.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
- Possibly God is bringing a chance for repentance and forgiveness.
- Perhaps is working to bring unity in the midst of diversity.
- Maybe, just maybe, Jesus is inviting us into something deeper and to take our eyes and hope and put them back where he always intended.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
 
I don’t know about you, but I choose to not waste this opportunity. There IS something going on. God is up to something. Something that gives me hope. God, may you do your work in me, in our church, in our nation and in our world. Make me a person who reflects your heart and really lives out your heart’s desire for me to “do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”

This is the last in this particular series of blog posts about the names of God. As I have mentioned throughout this blog series, focusing on the names of God helps focus a person on the qualities of God. It leads to deeper faith, greater trust and less worry. This last one that I am looking at today was one I looked at back in March of this year, right after everyone went into quarantine and social distancing. At the time, we all thought it wasn’t going to last all that long.  Now, 2 months later, this name of Jesus is as relevant and appropriate as ever.

LIVING WATER: This is a title that Jesus used of himself two different times, and bother are found in the book of John.  The most famous is in John 4 when Jesus encountered someone who was very different than himself in gender, ethnicity and social status. This woman was amazed that Jesus was even speaking with her. Since Jesus encountered this woman at a well where she was coming to get water, he used the analogy of water to speak about her deepest spiritual longings. He told her that they could only be found in himself, the living water.

Water is that unique thing that is utterly necessary to life. We can live for quite some time without food, but not water. All growing things need water. From a strictly physical side, I think of working outside on a hot day, and after a while, nothing satisfies or helps feel better like a tall, cool glass of water. We all know we need water to drink, yet we often try to get satisfaction through soda, juice, tea, coffee, beer or any number of other drinks. There is nothing wrong with most of them, but we are simply not as healthy when water is not a part of regular intake.

From a spiritual perspective, what then does it mean to see Jesus as “living water?” It means that trusting Jesus, following and spending time with him, satisfies the greatest and deepest longings of our souls. Nothing else we might run to for satisfaction will ever do what Jesus will do. They might be sweet in the moment, but ultimately are not what we need most. Jesus is the one who will satisfy. He will meet us where we are. He will bring joy and life. He will help us grow and be fruitful.
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It is so easy to run to things that taste sweet and we think will satisfy in the moment. Yet they always disappoint and leave us wanting more. Only Jesus fully meets all our needs. So drink deep. Dive in. He will never let you down.

There are well over 1000 names and titles for God found in Scripture. I am attempting, in this short series of blogs, to explore just a tiny fraction of those names. If you have been reading with me, you will notice that I am trying to find a wide variety of names to look at. I am going to write this blog a little differently today. When I do these studies, here is how I explore these names. (It is simple and if you are so inclined, I would highly encourage you to try this on your own.) When I am looking at a name of God, I ask three questions:

1. How is the title or name used? This means finding a verse (or more) that uses the name or title and examining how it is used.
2. How does the name or title describe God?
3. What are the implications to this name or characteristic of God?

Let’s walk through these three questions with the name that I want to explore today.
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MAN OF SORROWS:

1. How is the title or name used? This is a curious title because it is really only found one place in Scripture. In Isaiah 53:3 he is described as a man of suffering (or sorrows) within the context of a prophecy about what the Messiah was going to be like. This prophecy was attributed to Jesus. The entire prophecy talks about how the Messiah would be pierced, bruised and generally abused for our sake.
2. How does this name describe God? It means that Jesus was a man who understood what it meant to suffer. The obvious suffering is the suffering he did in the last hours of his life as he was beaten, whipped and crucified. In reality, it goes much deeper than that. He experienced homelessness, deprivation, betrayal, loneliness, hunger, criticism, mockery and abandonment. Jesus was someone who knew what it was like to suffer emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically.
3. What are the implications? There is a reason that this name for Jesus has been revered and used throughout the last 20 centuries. Jesus is our Savior. He promised to walk with us through this life. He knew that this life was filled with pain and sorrow. Unmet dreams. Sickness. Death. Loneliness. He knew that each person in this life’s journey would face these types of things. He chose to experience life, with all of its ups and downs, so that he understands what you are going through. No matter what you experience, you have a compassionate Savior who can come alongside you and who gets you. He knows what it is like. He does not minimize problems. He does not expect you to just “suck it up.” He genuinely knows, loves and cares. For anyone who has had a friend come along side them when things were tough, this makes an unimaginable difference. When I consider that this is who Jesus is, it makes me more inclined to go to him, talk to him and trust him.

​Try this yourself! Take a name of God and ask these three questions. May God himself meet you in special ways as you do!