Revere God’s Name: Finding Peace and Courage in Him

This week’s teaching explored the third commandment and what it means to revere God’s name. More than simply being careful about the words we use, this commandment invites us to remember that God is both bigger than our circumstances and always available to us, offering peace and courage when life feels uncertain.

This Week’s Teaching: #3: Revere God

Key Takeaways

• To revere God’s name is to recognize God’s holiness, greatness, and presence in our everyday lives.
• We misuse God’s name when we make God smaller than He really is or forget His goodness in the middle of difficulty.
• Grumbling can cause us to focus so much on our circumstances that we lose sight of God’s presence and provision.
• Revere God’s name by remembering that God is big enough to hold our struggles and available enough to meet us in them.
• When we turn toward God instead of relying only on ourselves, we can find peace and courage for whatever we are facing.

Sermon Highlights: Revere God’s Name

Have you ever thought about how much your name matters? A name is more than a label. It represents something about who we are, and the way someone uses our name can communicate respect, affection, or disregard.

The same is true when we speak about God’s name. The third commandment calls us to revere God’s name, and that invitation is about much more than avoiding certain words. It is about how we see God, how we respond to Him, and whether we recognize His holiness and presence in our lives.

Big Idea of This Week’s Teaching

The third commandment teaches us to revere God’s name by remembering who God really is. God is big, holy, powerful, and worthy of honor, but He is also available to us in every moment of our lives.

When we forget either side of that truth, we can become overwhelmed by our circumstances. But when we revere God’s name, we remember that our problems are not bigger than God and that we do not have to face them alone.

“God is Big, but God is available every moment of every day.”

Key Scriptures

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” This is the foundation for the teaching on the third commandment. The Hebrew word translated “misuse” carries the idea of emptiness or treating something as though it lacks meaning and value.

Exodus 16:2–8

When the Israelites faced adversity in the wilderness, they grumbled against Moses and Aaron. Moses pointed out that their grumbling was ultimately against the Lord. Their response shows how easily hardship can cause us to lose sight of God’s goodness and presence.

Colossians 1:16–17

Paul describes Jesus as the One through whom all things were created and in whom all things hold together. These verses remind us of the bigness of God and give us a reason to trust Him when life feels chaotic.

1. Revere God’s Name by Remembering That God Is Big

The third commandment is not simply about using God’s name correctly. It calls us to see God rightly. To revere God’s name means recognizing that God is not ordinary. He is holy, powerful, and greater than anything we encounter in this world. Colossians 1 reminds us that everything was created through Christ and for Christ, and that in Him all things hold together.

That matters when life feels chaotic. When our problems become the biggest thing we can see, fear can begin to take over. We may start believing that our circumstances are permanent, our resources are insufficient, or our future is hopeless. But revere God’s name by remembering that God is bigger than what you are facing. The size of our problems does not change the character or power of God.

2. Revere God’s Name When Life Is Difficult

The Israelites understood what it was like to face adversity. They had experienced God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, yet when they found themselves hungry and uncomfortable in the wilderness, they began to grumble. Their circumstances caused them to forget what God had already done.

We can do the same thing. When something goes wrong, it is easy to focus on what we lack rather than what God has provided. Worry can replace gratitude. Fear can replace trust. Self-pity can make us feel stuck.

To revere God’s name is to resist making God small in the middle of our struggles. It does not mean pretending that life is easy or ignoring pain. Instead, it means bringing our real circumstances to a God who is bigger than them.

3. Revere God’s Name by Remembering That God Is Available

God is not only big. God is available. That was one of the most encouraging truths in this teaching. The God who created everything is not distant or uninterested in our everyday lives. God invites us into a relationship that is personal, present, and life-changing.

The story of the pastor’s dad illustrated this beautifully. Even as a child, he experienced his dad as someone who was strong and capable. But what he remembers most is that his dad was available. He could call late at night, and his dad would answer. Most of the time, he did not need his dad to solve the problem. He simply needed someone who would listen and help him find peace and courage.

God offers that same kind of presence, only perfectly. To revere God’s name is to remember that we can turn toward God with our worries, fears, questions, and pain.

“Whatever is going on in your life—the struggle, a period of suffering, a fear of the future, a sickness, or even just the day to day worries of life, let yourself go to God.”

4. Revere God’s Name and Receive Peace and Courage

The invitation at the end of the teaching was simple: Whatever is happening in your life right now, go to God. Maybe life feels sideways. Maybe you are carrying a fear about the future, dealing with suffering, facing sickness, or simply feeling worn down by everyday worries. The invitation is not to fix everything before coming to God. It is to come as you are.

When we revere God’s name, we remember that God is both bigger than our circumstances and close enough to meet us in them. We can bring our whole lives to Him and ask for the peace and courage we need for today.

Practicing This Week

1. Revere God’s name by taking a few quiet moments each day to remember who God is before focusing on your circumstances.
2. When you notice yourself grumbling, pause and name one thing for which you can be grateful.
3. Bring one specific worry to God in prayer instead of carrying it entirely on your own.
4. Read Colossians 1:16–17 and reflect on what it means that “in him all things hold together.”
5. Revere God’s name by asking God for peace and courage rather than simply asking Him to remove every difficulty.

Questions for Reflection

1. When life feels difficult, what tends to become bigger in your mind: your circumstances or your understanding of God?
2. What does it mean for you personally to revere God’s name?
3. Where have you been tempted to grumble or lose gratitude because of a difficult circumstance?
4. What would it look like to remember that God is both big and available in something you are facing right now?
5. Where do you need God’s peace and courage today?

The third commandment gives us an invitation, not simply a rule to follow. To revere God’s name is to remember the God who created all things, holds all things together, and is still present with us.

Revere God’s name by remembering who God is. He is bigger than the chaos, stronger than our fears, and available in every moment. And in Jesus, we are invited to come to Him with confidence, trusting that He meets us with grace, peace, and courage.