Back in early February, I reflected on the name El Hai - the Living God. It was a really big deal for the Old Testament believers to know that their God was alive, and infinitely superior to the idols of surrounding nations. We find El Hai, for example, in Psalm 42 vs 2: "My soul thirsts for God, the Living God."
But just a few verses later, in Psalm 42 vs 8, the writer gives God a different name. He adds the suffix -ai, (which means "my") and the name becomes El Haiyai - the God of my life. "By day, the Lord shows me His lovingkindness; by night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life."
This is a subtle but important shift. El Hai is a general truth about God's nature: He is alive. But El Haiyai takes it a step further and is a declaration of a personal, relational connection to God as the source and reason/purpose of our existence. It's a personal confession of allegiance to God and reliance on Him.
God will always be El Hai, whether people believe in Him or not. But He only becomes El Haiyai if we make that decision at a deep, personal level.
