A couple of posts back, I focused on each of us knowing ourselves fully and completely, as we understand who we are in Christ, who God says we are and were from the beginning. We are loved, we are known, we are found.
Today I want to focus on who HE is, particularly as it relates to the phrase “I Am,” which he uses to describe Himself in many places throughout the Old Testament. As I began to do some research and study on this phrase, and Jesus’s “I Am” statements in the New Testament, I realized it is such a big topic and one that I cannot do real justice to in this short blog. However, I hope these thoughts will move us in the right direction, and certainly this topic can be explored more fully if anyone desires to do more study on it, to more fully appreciate the richness of it.
Most of you will be familiar with the story. Moses has an encounter with God in the desert in which God revealed to Moses what He was calling him to do, to free God’s people from slavery. Moses sees a bush that is burning, but not being consumed by the fire. As Moses approaches it, God tells him to take his shoes off, because he is on holy ground. What a thing to experience! When a bush talks to you, I guess you want to clarify what is happening. Moses asks, “Who are you?” God answers with “I Am Who I Am.” Simply put, “I Am” in the Hebrew speaks to the eternal, unchanging, and ever-present nature of God. I was (past), I am (present) and I will be (future).” We might think about it this way: He was at the beginning (Creator), He is now (Sustainer), He will be there in the future (Savior). Some sources say a more direct translation would be “I will be what I will be.”
He does not change, but as we change and understand Him more, He will be different things to us as we have different needs on our individual journeys. I believe he is saying to us today, “I AM…what you need, for this stage of your life, for this trial, for this place of joy, whoever and wherever you are – I AM.”
When God told Moses what He wanted Moses to do, Moses immediately came up with the reasons he was not suited for the job. In a message I heard by Steven Furtick, as he talked about this aspect of the Moses story, he used this phrase – “Moses said, ‘I’m not; God said, ‘I Am’.” We don’t have everything we need within ourselves. He takes what we are not, and replaces it with “I AM.” Whatever your issue, whatever your need, I AM. If you feel like you are not enough, I AM. When you are weary, I AM. When your heart is broken, I AM. When you are thankful, I AM. When you are filled with joy, I AM. When you are tempted, I AM. When you feel like giving up, I AM.
I AM, the God of your past, present and future.
Life By The Way 