“Oh” - one little word that can pack a real 👊 punch!

As we enter into the Christmas time of celebrating Jesus' birth, we may find ourselves singing one of the songs from this following list:

O Holy Night

O Christmas night

O Christmas Tree

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, little children

O come, Redeemer of mankind

O Jesus, King of Glory

O Little Town of Bethlehem

What wonderful praise we can give our Lord through these songs.

I was reminded of how important a word like "Oh" or "O" can be used in our English languange. The actual definition of it is:

used as an expression of surprise, pain, disapproval, etc.

As beautiful as these songs or hymns may be, we can also use this word in a way that can be harmful and of no benefit to another person.

Have you ever seen the movie "Home"? It's an animated movie with aliens called "Boov's". The Boov's move to Earth and begin a takeover by Captain Smek, who is very self-centered . There is also a Boov named "Oh" who meets a young girl named Tip. Their meeting starts out rocky, but they end up on a quest to find Tip's mom and rescue her and the other Earthlings from complete anilation. As they are on the journey a question comes to Oh about how he got his name. He answered that he didn't have a mom and dad so he got his name by being “called” his name.

A quote from the movie:

Oh : When the other Boov's said, "Oh!" I knew they were not happy to see me. The truth is that among the Boov, I do not fit in - I fit out.

Although this was to be a funny movie, it really does have some insight as to what we may go through ourselves in our daily lives on Earth.

How can one little word change how you think about yourself? Or how others relate to you?

Have you ever heard this?

Oh, it's just you.

Oh, I forgot you were here.

Oh, you're still here.

Oh, you’re a mess!

I'm sure this list could go on in great length if we really let it, but....

Let's take another look at the word "Oh" and what it can truly means for those who know Jesus.

The word Oh is found 100 times in the bible (KJV) and 52 of those times is found in the Psalms. David, the writer of most of the Psalms, was quite experienced with this word, Oh, both in his vocabulary and in his own personal life.

In I Samuel 16 we see a prophet named Samuel go to annoint the new king of Israel to replace previous king Saul. He went to Jesse’s house and asked to see all of his sons. After seeing all 7 and not finding the one God has sent him to annoint, he asked Jesse, if he had any other sons. He replied, “Oh, I have another son that tends our sheep”.

I know I’ve taken a liberty on my interpretation from I Samuel 16, but I think after you would read the story, you'd come to the same. David wasn't a thought! But, it didn't detour him from what God had for him. David was named by God as "a man after my own heart". We see it in this passage:

1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

David could have had the same Oh's that I listed out, but in the Psalms he repeatedly took his Oh's and Wow's and turned them over to God.

My encouragement for you would be to not give your attention to the list above, but instead, if you hear someone say anything that starts with Oh..... just remember David’s words…

Psalm 31:19

Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!

Psalm 31:23

Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person.

Psalm 34:3

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

As we move into this Christmas season, I hope you've now seen that you are not just an "Oh". You have a name given to you and it is backed up with all of the love that Jesus provides. You're never an Uh-oh in Him.

I'm so grateful for you and your support of this ministry.

Have a wonderful time singing the songs and giving praise through this Christmas season.

Oh, what a wonderful Life we have in Jesus!