445. God’s Name Great
Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles;and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord o hosts.
God promises us that His Name will be great at every time and every place, 24/7 everywhere. And the name will be great among all the people of the earth, even among the Gentiles, the heathen and unbelievers everywhere. Just because many people on earth do not acknowledge the Lord as God, or believe in God, or worship Him, or resist knowing God’s Love in any form does not mean that His Name is not great. God is good, all the time, whether we realize it or not. We earth-dwellers do not make it so or make it not so. The promise is still true and always will be: God’s Name is always great.
And even in our own hearts and lives the name of God is great. In our own heart there are times when we doubt and wonder. Even strong believers have pockets of doubt and unbelief. We may believe God most of the time for most things, but there are still times when forget, ignore, doubt, worry, fear because we might not be 100% certain of God’s name, God’s presence, God’s willingness to help, and even God’s ability to take care of us and meet our needs. That’s why we need this promise. That is why we pray “Hallowed be they name.”
We need the name of God to be great. We need the name of Jesus to be present and powerful. The Christian believes God and His promises, His goodness and His present power, and so he prays in faith in every circumstance of need and helpless feeling. He also prays the Lord’s Prayer daily trusting our loving father to make His name holy, great, powerful and meaningful where we live. Then we pray for His kingdom to come among us and for His will to be done. These petitions are not such easy things to pray as it might seem at first blush. For that reason the Lord gives us promises so that we may be encouraged by the Spirit to believe God: the Lord’s name will be great in the worst of times and places. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, His Name is great, and that the very one who died for us is in charge. Fear not!