Boasting In the Name of the Lord - God our Father

The Importance of Boasting - Proverbs 21:31 and Psalm 20:7 

“Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.” Psalm 20:7 

Now, I’ve always heard that boasting is bad… it’s being prideful or arrogant. So please allow me to share a little background on some of the words in this verse, especially boasting.   

It was while reading Kay Arthur’s book “Lord I Want To Know You”, that my eyes were opened in a wonderful way!  Did you know that in the Hebrew language boast means to “have confidence in” or “trust in” something or someone? During Old Testament times, horses & chariots were a means of escape. I also learned that in Biblical times a name represented a person’s character, His attributes, and his nature. With this in mind, when I re-read Psalm 20:7 and replaced the word boast with trust, it is so much easier to understand and apply it to my own circumstances. I can ask myself who or what am I “trusting”? Who or what am I typically using as “a means of escape”? Yes, asking yourself these things can be convicting… But that is a GOOD thing! With conviction, comes the opportunity to repent/turn away and receive forgiveness and freedom! And that is a wonderful BLESSING!   

Boasting in the Name of the Lord can be difficult if I am not familiar with His Names. I also learned that so many of our wrong decisions, our pain, and confusion are linked to not knowing who God really is… not knowing who He says He is! Our new series for Creative Hearts group is Lettering the Names of God where we are breaking this down even more. I’m using the Kay Arthur book and a book called “Prayer Portions” by Sylvia Gunter. I've learned so much from these wonderful women of faith that I wanted to share some of the highlights with you as well! (I’m enclosing links in case you want to learn more about either of the books or about joining our Lemonade Creative Hearts.)

God the Father is one of the Names of God that we will be lettering in this new series. I wanted to start with this name for two reasons. The calendar is reminding me that it is close to Father’s Day AND knowing this Name is crucial to our well-being!   

Read what Sylvia Gunter had to say, “Understanding the Father-character of God is essential if we are to love Him and be assured of His love, worship Him, trust Him, be secure in Him, pray to Him, yield to Him, live holy before Him, receive His guidance, serve Him, be like Him, and much more.” Sylvia Gunter, "Why Know the Father’s Heart" found in her Prayer Portions Book.

[Grace with her father, Chris, at her Auburn University Graduation]

We live in a very broken and sinful world. We were all parented by imperfect parents, some more imperfect than others. From all the years of working with women, I know that so many women have a wounded place in their heart regarding their earthly father. I know from personal experience that this wound can distort our view of God as Father. It can create an orphan spirit inside of us. If you can relate to this, I would love to encourage you to sit with some Truth-filled resources to minister to your precious heart. I’m going to include a few of my favorites below. I want to encourage you that it’s worth the time and expense to invest in yourself spiritually. You are precious and worth the investment!

[Evie with her dad, Chuck, at her 1st Birthday Party]

Several years ago, I asked some women what descriptions should I write around the new Dad design I was creating. An eerie silence fell over the chatty women, until one woman finally broke the silence with “I don’t have anything good to say about my dad”. I prayed quickly how to respond to this! I reframed my question, “What quality would you have wanted in your dad?” After a bit she replied, “the qualities that I see in my son”. She began listing the qualities she sees in her son. I told her and the others listening, I really believe God can and will reparent us and sometimes He chooses to do it through our own children! I pray that as you watch your son with his daughters, I pray you can open your heart, and receive the love, grace and healing from your Abba. It could never replace what your earthly father was unable to give you, BUT Abba can definitely use it as a healing balm to the wounded places in your heart. 

I quickly wrote the descriptions she gave of her son, and they became part of the Dad Design (which is currently on sale this week, along with some other designs!)