Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord Who Is Present
“If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.” Psalm 139:8
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me.” Psalm 23:4
Today I ache. My heart mourns. I grieved in a doctor’s office with my daughter when the medical assistant asked, “How many brothers and sisters does she have?”
One brother lies in the grave. A piece of me lies in that grave. And it hurts.
Yet, we do not dwell there alone. Jehovah-Shammah is here too. He is the God who lifted me from the ground as I handed the body of my son to the paramedic. He is God who rode beside me in the ambulance speaking life while I tasted death. He is the God who walked with me into the emergency room where the sentence was handed down. He is the God who continues to bow to me catching my tears. He is the God who dwells on the ground with me.
He is the God who touched my spirit as I answered the question for the first time since my Azaiah died. My son is in the grave. I am in the grave. And HE is here in the grave with me.
I praise Him. I praise the God of the grave.
Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50-54
Oh, thank you! I long for the day when my eyes see the Son of God open the tombs- all of them. But until that day, the cry of my aching heart is AZAIAH! AZAIAH! MY STRENGTH IS YAHWEH!
