“For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Who is God to you today?
I want to start by asking you to take a moment to ponder on your answer to this question before reading on.
This past year and a half, the time of COVID-19, has been a tough season for many. Plans have been destroyed, communities have gone remote, smiles have been hidden by masks, our daily routines have been shattered and shifted multiple times, and for many, our occupations have seen a direct impact.
When people ask what it’s like to be a nurse during this time, an immediate answer at the beginning of the pandemic seemed to be that not much had changed. We were still taking care of sick people. Now that COVID-19 has lasted well over a year, I believe that we are seeing an impact on nurses that tells us perhaps more has changed than one had originally thought, but regardless there is one thing that has really stuck out to me since the beginning.
Throughout this pandemic, bedside visitors have been limited. Dependent upon many factors, patients have been able to have anywhere from zero visitors a day to a visitor for an hour per day to one, single visitor per day. Regardless of the current policy, nurses started to become the most familiar face at the bedside and thus, acquired a new hat for their wardrobe; the physically present, primary support person. I am sure every nurse could share about an experience from under this new hat, but for me, one patient will always vividly come to mind.
She had originally come to the hospital for an outpatient procedure, but much to their surprise, the doctors found a large, concerning mass in her lungs, so instead of being sent back home as was supposed to happen, she was sent to me on the inpatient floor, where she would be staying at least one night. Likely staring a new cancer diagnosis in the eyes, she was terrified and tearful and within minutes of meeting her, she looked me in the eyes and said, “I just want my husband.” Talk about a new hat.
This new role certainly comes with a beautiful opportunity, but it also carries the weight of a new obligation, and honestly, it can be quite emotionally taxing and when added to the conglomeration of hats already found in the wardrobe of a nurse, it can just simply be a lot to balance.
Perhaps you have been in a position where you have been handed a new hat for the collection. Maybe a new title has been added to your job description, or maybe things have changed at home and you’ve had to take on new responsibilities, or maybe a friend has been diagnosed with cancer, or even COVID, and you’ve stepped into that helping role. We all know what it’s like to take on new responsibilities, and we can all understand the weight that comes with a growing pile of hats. At the end of the day, it can just be hard.
As I read this scripture out of Isaiah, I thought about God’s wardrobe of hats.
He is our Wonderful Counselor as displayed in John 10:3-4. “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (NIV).
Mark 10:27 validates that He is our Mighty God. “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God’” (NIV).
He is our Everlasting Father as pointed to in Deuteronomy 33:27. “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’” (NIV).
And He is our Prince of Peace as presented in Romans 5:1-2 and many other places throughout scripture. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God” (NIV).
The more that we sift through scripture, the more hats that our God seems to acquire. I remember the very first time that I studied ‘Jesus as Lord’ with my mentors. We talked about Jesus as our Security, our Source, our Standard, our Satisfaction, our Strength, our Savior and our Sovereign. It was at that time that I began to realize that we are all reached by different hats of the Lord, and honestly, different phases of life or even different days bring me to lean on one hat of the Lord more than another.
A few years ago, I recall hearing someone say, “I just can’t imagine God as my friend” as he spoke of the way that His view of the Lord had already been shaped.
But today, I am reminded of a God that wears many hats. He is our Righteous Judge (Psalm 7:11), but He is also our Friend (John 15:15).
Good Shepard. Bread of Life. Light of the World. High Priest. Bridegroom. Lamb of God. Indweller. Redeemer. Provider. Protector. Creator. Sustainer. Healer. Comforter.
Abba Father.
Unlike the nurse, our God wears the fullness of every hat, yet He does not tire.
What title of the Lord are you leaning on today?
Let your thankfulness be heard.
