December 5, 2018

365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 5: I AM


I AM

"Moses said to God, 'Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?' God said to Moses, 'I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' ' " (Exodus 3:13, 14 NIV)

I AM is one of my mom's favorite names of God, and it's one of mine, too. It's just so definitive and done. If I introduced myself to someone and walked up to them and said, "I am," they'd probably say, "You are what?" or "You are who?" and then I'd say, "I am Elizabeth" or "I am a mom" or "I am Russ and Joyce's daughter." 

But God needs no such qualification: He just is. I love the way Darlene Zschech (of the song "Shout To the Lord," and as long as we're doing pronunciations here, this one is just "check"...really) puts it in Revealing Jesus: "all other attributes and descriptions are wrapped up in His being."

Over the next year, as we study more of God's names, I'm praying we will unwrap a deeper understanding of who and how He is. But for today, just lean into reassuring reality that The Great I AM is...and all He is, He is for you.

1 comment:

  1. I think "I Am" and "Emmanuel" are my two favorites! But of course as soon as I said that, I thought of a handful of others that I think are especially great, too...

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!