I Am

“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:58).

Sometimes we just need to be still and know that God is God and we are not.  Jesus is the great I Am.  He has no beginning and no end.  When He used this name to describe Himself, He was proclaiming to everyone listening that He was not just a good teacher, not just a servant, not just a great speaker, He is God Himself.  He is the one that met with Abraham and gave him the promise of a son and the warning of the coming judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.  He was the one who wrestled with Jacob.  He was the one speaking to Moses in the burning bush.  He was the one with Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  Jesus was there through it all.  He is the great I Am. 

I don’t realize how much I want to be in control until I walk through situations where I have absolutely no control.  And in those places a flood of uncertainty fills my heart, and the sin that lies in the deepest crevices is flushed to the surface and I see my faith or lack of it laid bare before my eyes and it is very sobering. 

Do I believe?  Will I sit with Jesus and let Him calm my heart?  In the midst of all my petitions and requests and demands, will I trust Him when instead of specific guidance and direction, His only answer is “I Am”?  It is unlikely that God is going to answer my prayers in the way I imagine, how arrogant for me to put such expectations on Almighty God.  But I do know that He does hear my prayers, and He is good, and if I can tune my heart to listen through the fear that can be so loud, the most reassuring answer He can give me is “I Am.”