What do you call God?
“Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes.” –Daniel 4:25
In the book of Daniel, Daniel often refers to God as “Most High.” I would like to suggest that we tend to refer to God with the name that most defines our understanding of Him.
Daniel was a Jew that had been taken from his home and his Jewish culture and forced to serve a foreign king, the king of Babylon. He was required to become a part of Babylon’s culture, traditions, and belief system. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, wanted the strongest and brightest Jewish young men to serve him and contribute to the greatness of his kingdom.
Babylon, like all the other leading nations during this time, followed many gods. Because of this, when Nebuchadnezzar saw that Daniel’s God was successful, he would praise his God as being strong and mighty. But he would not necessarily surrender to the truth that God is the ONLY strong and mighty God.
Interestingly, Daniel keeps referring to his God as “Most High.” “Most High” is one of the many names of God found in the Bible. It explains that God is literally the Most High. He will not allow anyone or anything to raise itself above Him. A perfect example of this is seen in Isaiah 14:12-15 which describes satan’s attempt to put himself above God. Verse 15, explains that God’s response was to bring satan “down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.”
David knew that this was who his God was… the Most High, Because of that, it didn’t matter what the culture he was immersed in said about his God. He clung to the truth of what the scriptures called his God. He clung to the truth that God was Most High and that all the other false gods around him would never reign supreme like his God. Because he clung to the truth that God was Most High, he most often used the name Most High, to refer to his God. Which leads me to the question: What do you call God?
Do you most often refer to Him as Father, Lord, or God? Or do you even maybe refer to Him as Abba, Adonai, or Elohim? Spend some time reflecting on what you call your God. Think about your prayer time, your conversations with believers, and your conversations with unbelievers. Ask God to show you what your names for Him say about your relationship with Him.
Read Daniel 4:28-37. Look at how God brought even King Nebuchadnezzar to a place of believing God is Most High.
~ Monica Brenton
