Yahweh Shammah Is Present With You

“The distance around the entire city will be 6 miles. And from that day the name of the city will be ‘THE LORD IS THERE’ [Yahweh Shammah].” (Ezekiel 48:35, NLT)

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” (Psalm 139:7-10, NLT)

My parents were “home bodies.” They took occasional road trips to visit their siblings or kids and grandkids, but for the most part, they felt content to stay home, sleep in their own bed, and eat familiar food.

I didn’t inherit those genes. I’ve always loved to travel and experience foreign cultures, and I consider eating unfamiliar food an adventure. That bent comes in handy, especially because God’s call on my life entails international missions.

My husband and I usually travel overseas together, although we’ve had to split up occasionally to accommodate conflicting schedules. On one occasion, I planned to fly without him to Warsaw, Poland to speak at a women’s conference. After the event, I’d travel seven hours by train to meet him at a different city.

My mother gasped and shook her head when I told her about the arrangements. “I’m afraid for you,” she said. “I wish you didn’t have to travel alone.”

The thought of riding the train by myself in a country where I couldn’t understand the language didn’t thrill me, either, but I viewed my situation through a different lens. That is, I would not be alone because God’s presence would be with me.

One of God’s Hebrew names is Yahweh Shammah, which means “THE LORD IS THERE.” It’s found only once in the Bible, in Ezekiel 48:35. Within this context, it brought hope to the Israelites who were in exile in Babylon for rebelling against God. It told them that they would one day return to their beloved Jerusalem where they would experience God’s glorious presence as they’d done in the past.

Ezekiel’s message applies to us, too. Living in rebellion to God’s directives hinders us from experiencing His presence, but we needn’t be afraid that He will cast us aside forever. He desires to restore us to fellowship with Himself when we confess our sin and align our lives with His truth. “The LORD is there” for us; He is not against us when our hearts desire to draw near to Him.

The name Yahweh Shammah tells us something else about God’s character. That is—He is with us everywhere we go. In Old Testament times, Yahweh Shammah dwelt in the temple. Today, followers of Jesus Christ are called the temple of God, and He dwells in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

This means Yahweh Shammah is with us no matter where we are—at home, at work, driving down the freeway, picking up our kids from school, working out at the gym, and even traveling by train in countries where we can’t understand the language. He never leaves us alone, not even for a second.

Yahweh Shammah—“the LORD is there”—is with us every moment of every day, no matter where we go. His name tells us that He is there, not He was there but is no longer present, or He will be there when He gets around to it.

Yahweh Shammah assures us that He is there, wherever we are. He’s a present tense God with His people right here, right now. And because of who He is, we can learn to live unafraid.

Pray & Reflect:

How does knowing God’s presence dwells with you wherever you go bring encouragement into your day? Carve out a few minutes in your schedule today to bask in His presence undistracted and with no agenda. Be quiet, ask Him to speak to you, and then listen for His voice. Write down what He says.