"I AM"

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:
and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you."
~Exodus 3:14~

The account of the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land has been such an encouragement to me. I've also been reading from When the Pieces Don't Fit...God Makes the Difference by Glaphré, and was challenged by some things she shared regarding "boxes" in our lives.

God says, "I AM THAT I AM"—and our response is often, "Yes, Lord, but I am—I am shy, I am untalented, I am unqualified..." Instead of focusing on His all-sufficiency, we focus on our perception of our inadequacies, our fears. We build up a box around ourselves, complete with comfy little nooks that accommodate our weaknesses. We take this box with us wherever we go, afraid to step out of it's "protection."

We say we want to be totally surren-dered to the Lord's service, but when He calls, we feel we have to remind Him of a few things: "I've never done anything like that before; I could never be used that way..." We slap the lid on the box saying, "That's just the way I am, Lord—can't help it!" God loves us so much that He accepts us, box and all, but He gently reminds us that we don't need the box—we have HIM!

As Glaphré puts it, God says, "How I long for you to understand. You don't need that box. What you become does not have to depend upon you. Not on what you can or can't do. Not on what you think you will or will never be. I will make the difference, if you'll let Me."

That really spoke to me. I tend to base a lot of my conclusions on past experience ("I've never been able to do that before!" or "Remember what happened when we tried last time?"), instead of leaving an open door for the Lord to work. It's so easy for me to have a multitude of mental expectations, guidelines, or boundaries for myself and others—even God Himself—forgetting that His ways are far, far above my own limited understanding (that's essentially "idolatry" because it's a false perception of God).

But I'm slowly learning and am infinitely grateful for the Lord's patience and mercy in my life. I want to take His "I AM" by faith, allowing it to totally encompass everything that "I am" in myself. He purposely chooses the weak and foolish ones for His service, that He alone may be glorified. When I'm weak, then I am strong in HIM. He is all-sufficient. He is enough! Jesus and me, we're gonna make it.

Let's remember to focus on Christ today, leaving our boxes behind and pressing forward to victory in Him. Praise the Lord, His grace and strength IS sufficient for our every need!

Joyfully HIS,


This article was published in the January-March issue of Hidden Wisdom Magazine, copyright 2005, Abigail Paul.