Month: February 2025

You have given a banner to those who fear you, that it may be displayed because of the truth.  Psalm 60:4

Jehovah Nissi has been my favorite name for God for a long time. In difficult times, I held onto God’s promises and envisioned them as a banner over my head.  God is His Word and God says that He is there gracing my life with His presence. 

What tight spot are you in today?  Over what is your heart aching?  Whose words have left you feeling powerless?  What spiritual test are you currently enduring?  Where are you tired of waiting on God?  God has a word for us, posted on a banner, for every kind of life scenario. 

Jehovah Nissi first came alive for me when I was in my mid-thirties.  Because I started performing in public events so young in life, I had some trauma that came back to bite me.  In the late 1980’s, I suffered persistent anxiety attacks before every concert, which at that time, numbered over a hundred a year.  I sat backstage, watched the clock, and as it ticked down to performance time, I got increasingly upset.  I felt trapped.  The clock became synonymous with a ticking time bomb.  Every tick moved me closer to a detonation. As anxiety ramped up, I often crashed, and either forced myself to perform while stuffing my panic, or cancelling at the last moment.  

A period of counseling proved to be lifesaving as I dealt with the past, unrealistic expectations placed on me as a child/musician, and my inability to say no to those who asked too much of me.  God gloriously healed me from anxiety (and it’s gone to this day) but how He did it was through His name, Jehovah Nissi.  He revealed that although my life was short and frail, He does not weaken or fail with the passage of time. He controls it and is, in fact, outside of it.  He is Lord over time.  The ticking clock was nothing but smoke.  “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”  Psalm 90:4

Eventually, I could look at the clock backstage and be unmoved.  I could see my Eternal God as my banner, working outside of time, inviting me into spacious places with Him, out of confinement.  I felt suspended from the pressure.  Jehovah Nissi connected me with eternity, something infinitely bigger than a 90-minute concert, and walked with me onto the stage.  He was a banner, a tent, over my head.  I felt cocooned and safe and began to enjoy the adventure of singing, telling stories, and finding ways to share my passion over spiritual things.   

Today, no matter where you and I go, we need only be still, picture the banner, and know that He is with us.  His truth is holding us, surrounding us, cocooning us, and suspending us above the pressure.  May God give you the eyes to see the flag gently waving in response to the wind of the Spirit. 

You are the banner that goes with me into battle.  I will never lose my bearings.  Amen

“And Moses built an altar and named it Jehovah-Nissi, which means ‘The Lord is my banner'”.  Exodus 17:15

This name of God comes from the story in Exodus 17 when the Israelites fought with the Amalekites.  Joshua led Israel’s troops into battle while Moses climbed to the top of a hill where he could see the entire battle play out from a strategic vantage point.  God told Moses that as long as he held up his staff, the Israelites would gain an advantage.  When he lowered it, they would lose ground.  Moses was graced with the stamina to keep the staff raised high. 

When the battle was won, Moses built an altar and named it, ‘Jehovah Nissi’, meaning ‘God is my banner.’  There was no doubt that God had led them to victory. 

Revolutionary and Civil War movies show opposing armies advancing toward each in confrontation.  A single soldier, called a Standard Bearer, carried the flag bearing the ensign of his country or government.  He was always in the front line, making this the most dangerous assignment in the army.  He traded in his gun for a flag, all the while knowing that his enemies would probably shoot him first.  He would never put the flag down to engage in the fighting nor would he surrender the flag if he was wounded.  In fact, he was instructed to wrap his body with it even as the final blows come.  As long as the flag was held high, morale was boosted.  People remembered what they were fighting for.  If they lost their bearings, they looked for their flag and were reminded of who they were and why they fought.  Under the flag, they shared a vision and set of ideals. 

A waving flag also grated against the enemy and intimidated them.  It stood for everything they did not believe in.  No wonder there was always an attempt to capture it and destroy it. It was usually burned.    

This is one of my favorite names of God. It’s extremely touching to me that God places Himself as a banner over my life.  Flesh and blood may not see Him, but it still affects them.  Spiritual beings do see Him: heaven’s angels rejoice and work with Him for my good, and hell’s angels stand down and know that their efforts are under His sovereignty.  

A sanctified imagination can see His banner waving high.  I see it, do you?  In this spiritual battle, I remember whose I am, why I’m fighting, and unlike earthly wars when the outcome is uncertain, I know who wins this epic battle.  Jehovah Nissi has already secured victory.

**Standard Bearers on the front lines usually won many medals.  (though post-mortem)