I used to keep God in a box. Oh, it was a beautiful box, for sure, but a box nevertheless. This box was gilded with the finest gold, lined with the purest silver, and embellished with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds. Oh yes. It was a fine box. Only the best for the Lord.
But here's the problem. God is too grand to contain. We're limited in our ability to comprehend Him; therefore, we limit God to the perimeters of our understanding. Our limitations place Him in the proverbial box.
But if we are to understand how the Lord is to be our great reward, our exceeding joy, then we must delve into a greater understanding of Who He is. We have to take Him out of the box.
Are you ready?
Let's go back to I AM WHO I AM, which is the basic translation of Yahweh (or YHWH). When God selected Moses to deliver His people from slavery in Egypt, Moses wasn't a happy camper, He dared to challenge the Lord: "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" The Lord responded, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:13-14).
The issue isn't who Moses is, but WHO is with him.
The issue isn't who we are, but WHO is with us.
I AM is with us. Our great reward. Our exceeding joy.
I like to think of the name, I AM WHO I AM, in terms of an umbrella. I AM WHO I AM forms the arc along the top of the umbrella. Beneath the arc are many names, each representing different attributes and character traits of the Lord. There are representative names such as Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides; Jehovah-rapha, the Lord who heals; Jeshovah-tsidkenu, the Lord my righteousness. One of my favorite names of God is El Roi, the God who sees me and know all about it.
I AM WHO I AM.
Provider.
Healer.
My Righteousness.
The God Who Sees Me.
When we take God out of the proverbial box, we can behold Him as the magnificent God that He is.
When we take Him out of the box, we realize He really is with us. He is our great reward. Our exceeding joy. When we seek Him with our whole hearts, we will find Him.
The issue is not who we are.
The issue is who HE is. The Great I AM.
(This is an excerpt from my book,
The Perils of a Pastor's Wife, releasing on June 30th.
You will find this passage in chapter six,
JOY IN THE WILDERNESS: The Peril of Despair.)
A Tweetable to Encourage Others
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Be empowered to fight spiritual battles with God's grace and love, protected by His armor. Learn creative ways to stand up for yourself while standing by your man. Feel the blessing of your calling - as a ministry helper, marriage partner, and mother. Discover how to respond when all hell breaks loose. The Perils of a Pastor's Wife will guide you through the calamities of life and restore your confidence in God's purpose and plan for your life and ministry.
The Perils of a Pastor's Wife will connect with you on many levels. My greatest desire is that you, my sister, will know that somewhere, somehow, someone knows. You are not alone.
The Perils of a Pastor's Wife
releases on June 30, 2015
To preorder, visit Amazon
grace
and love, protected by His armor. Learn creative ways to stand up for
yourself while standing by your man. Feel the blessing of your calling
... as a ministry helper, marriage partner, and mother. Discover how to
respond when all hell breaks loose. - See more at:
http://morningglorylights.blogspot.com/#sthash.hLYFXVNH.dpuf
Be
empowered to fight spiritual battles with God's grace and love,
protected by His armor. Learn creative ways to stand up for yourself
while standing by your man. Feel the blessing of your calling ... as a
ministry helper, marriage partner, and mother. Discover how to respond
when all hell breaks loose. The Perils of a Pastor's Wife will guide you
through the calamities of life and restore your confidence in God's
purpose and plan for your life and ministry. - See more at: http://morningglorylights.blogspot.com/#sthash.QHGQVqnj.dpuf
Every time I read another excerpt from your book it falls fresh on me again and I am blessed all over again. I mean, seriously, let's just sit and bask in this today that I AM WHO I AM knows us each and everyone of us by name and knows our frame and knows us more completely than we know ourselves. I was just thinking shortly after waking this morning about how there are billions upon billions of people who have walked this earth in the past and in the present and yet He knows each of us intimately. How awesome is that? If that doesn't blow our minds not much else will...right? So thank you for reminding me today that THE GREAT I AM is my Father and my Guide and I can trust Him with my whole life...my whole day and, my whole heart. Love you!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. It blows my mind too, and definitely comforts my heart :)
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