I Am
I AM. You’ve seen that name before. It’s how God identified himself. Moses stood before The Almighty trying to find a way out of going back to Egypt, so he asked the question, “Who shall I say sent me?” Scripture gives us the text of the conversation, but not the dynamics of how it unfolded. I wonder, was there silence before God answered? Was Moses suddenly caught up in a vacuum of holy quietness? Was this a precursor to the admonition “Be still and know that I AM God.”
Out of the hush of the moment, God spoke…“I AM who I AM. Tell them I AM has sent you.” Then another cloud of silence…and Hell shuddered.
I AM…not only His name, but a statement of being and a promise of action.
When we are in doubt of His existence, He responds, “I AM.”
When we think our prayers don’t make it out of the room and God won’t answer, He says, “I AM.”
When we think we’ve sinned beyond forgiveness and there is no one who will stand with us, God says, “I AM.”
When life takes on clothes that clash with our dreams and forces us to wear what we think hides our significance, and no one will seek us out, God says “I AM.”
When we hurt with a pain that seems to shred our soul into pieces that cannot be mended, God says, “I AM.”
When we believe we’ve conquered the mountains before us and landed squarely on our feet, and we wonder how it happened, God says, “I AM.”
He didn’t say “I was” or “I will be,” although when placed together with “I AM” all are true. He was and is and always will be. (Revelation 1:8) But I AM stands out because it says, “I am always in the present.” There is never a moment when we can’t reach out and touch God. Never a circumstance where He hides from us.
When God said, “I AM,” it wasn’t the last time Moses would hear that still small voice. It wasn’t the last time Moses would need God’s direction and counsel; His boldness and courage; His strength and power. So it was good for Moses to know when the gun went off to run the race, “I AM” would be there.
The name that is above all names, Jesus, the Incarnate God, is with us. The great I AM will not abandon us. We are not locked away from His presence; we are not distanced from His intimacy. We don’t have to fear the breath of God or the touch of God. We may be in a storm, but we are also in His hand. Take heart! Be thankful. Breathe deeply the breath of the great I AM.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
