I love it when I can hear a message on Sunday and it hangs with me....prodding me....challenging me to think deeper. This Sunday it was a part of the whole message that intrigued me. His name....Yaweh (our spelling)... I Am.
My first level was in recognizing that HE is the answer to everything I need (and sometimes even things I just want! - How gracious is THAT!)
I need - COMFORT.
My family is torn and hurting. The lonliness of that separation is physically painful....and emotionally painful beyond words. My heart longs to talk to them, to hold them, to remind them of how much I love them - desperately. And to remind them of how much You love them, Abba. Do they remember? Do they hear that voice that reminds them...."I love you forever and ever, no matter what, all the way up to God"
His response..... I AM
I need - HOPE.
The future seems bleak at times...insurmountable at others. Humanly speaking...hopeless. So many variables and unknowns that it boggles the mind and often the spirit. I need the ray of light at the end of this dark tunnel - hope.
His response.... I AM
I need - SECURITY
This world is a very scary place these days in many ways. I need to know that no matter what, I am safe. And I need an understanding of just what "safe" looks like. I need the security of the awareness that HE is in control.
His response.... I AM
I need - JOY
The day I realized that I hadn't laughed..really deeply laughed...in such a long time. That somewhere along the line sadness had become the state of being. What an awakening that was! When did THAT happen??? Smiles and laughs had dropped...one by one...along this road of shadow and uncertainty and loss. Until one day... they were just...gone. This is not the life I want....the life I'm meant to live. Let's face it....this is not life at all!
His response..... I AM
I need - PROVISION
I mean seriously...can ANYTHING else go wrong that requires dollars that are just not available? We don't even have a Peter to rob to pay Paul! It has been a financial two steps forward, four steps back. Situations totally out of our control, nothing to "do" to solve it. All that can be "done" is done. Along with that is the frustration of not being able to GIVE! We love to do that....to provide for others. We still find ways but it is greatly curtailed. I understand that it is more blessed to give than to receive. That is not a difficult concept for me at all! I KNOW that to be true. I just never understood the opposite side.... It is more difficult to receive than it is to give. Perhaps a chance to understand the other side?? Very probable.
His response..... I AM
And the list goes on and on.....and on. All these needs I have and His response in answer to them all is....
I AM
Then to the next level - I realize that this Yaweh is so very much more than just His name, His identity. It is His being, His character. HE JUST IS!! "Before Abraham was...I AM" (Jn 8:58) That's not just a name!!! It is His state of eternal "be-ness" It is the communication of all that He....well....IS!
In the garden....the betrayer and the guards come to find Him, to take Him away.... Whom do you seek?
His response..... I AM
Then....POWER....they fell down backwards. The awesome power of that statement of who He is. He could have evaporated them all with just those words. But He had a bigger plan in mind and heart.
On the hilltop.... whom shall I say sent me? Moses asks.....
His response..... I AM
Then....LOVE, COMPASSION, ASSURANCE, KNOWLEDGE. He wanted them to know that the God who loves them and had called them was still in control and still watching out for them.
I AM......both strength and power but at the same time....peace, gentleness, love.
He IS.....all I ever need.....more than all I could ever want.......
ALL and EVERYTHING.
My first level was in recognizing that HE is the answer to everything I need (and sometimes even things I just want! - How gracious is THAT!)
I need - COMFORT.
My family is torn and hurting. The lonliness of that separation is physically painful....and emotionally painful beyond words. My heart longs to talk to them, to hold them, to remind them of how much I love them - desperately. And to remind them of how much You love them, Abba. Do they remember? Do they hear that voice that reminds them...."I love you forever and ever, no matter what, all the way up to God"
His response..... I AM
I need - HOPE.
The future seems bleak at times...insurmountable at others. Humanly speaking...hopeless. So many variables and unknowns that it boggles the mind and often the spirit. I need the ray of light at the end of this dark tunnel - hope.
His response.... I AM
I need - SECURITY
This world is a very scary place these days in many ways. I need to know that no matter what, I am safe. And I need an understanding of just what "safe" looks like. I need the security of the awareness that HE is in control.
His response.... I AM
I need - JOY
The day I realized that I hadn't laughed..really deeply laughed...in such a long time. That somewhere along the line sadness had become the state of being. What an awakening that was! When did THAT happen??? Smiles and laughs had dropped...one by one...along this road of shadow and uncertainty and loss. Until one day... they were just...gone. This is not the life I want....the life I'm meant to live. Let's face it....this is not life at all!
His response..... I AM
I need - PROVISION
I mean seriously...can ANYTHING else go wrong that requires dollars that are just not available? We don't even have a Peter to rob to pay Paul! It has been a financial two steps forward, four steps back. Situations totally out of our control, nothing to "do" to solve it. All that can be "done" is done. Along with that is the frustration of not being able to GIVE! We love to do that....to provide for others. We still find ways but it is greatly curtailed. I understand that it is more blessed to give than to receive. That is not a difficult concept for me at all! I KNOW that to be true. I just never understood the opposite side.... It is more difficult to receive than it is to give. Perhaps a chance to understand the other side?? Very probable.
His response..... I AM
And the list goes on and on.....and on. All these needs I have and His response in answer to them all is....
I AM
Then to the next level - I realize that this Yaweh is so very much more than just His name, His identity. It is His being, His character. HE JUST IS!! "Before Abraham was...I AM" (Jn 8:58) That's not just a name!!! It is His state of eternal "be-ness" It is the communication of all that He....well....IS!
In the garden....the betrayer and the guards come to find Him, to take Him away.... Whom do you seek?
His response..... I AM
Then....POWER....they fell down backwards. The awesome power of that statement of who He is. He could have evaporated them all with just those words. But He had a bigger plan in mind and heart.
On the hilltop.... whom shall I say sent me? Moses asks.....
His response..... I AM
Then....LOVE, COMPASSION, ASSURANCE, KNOWLEDGE. He wanted them to know that the God who loves them and had called them was still in control and still watching out for them.
I AM......both strength and power but at the same time....peace, gentleness, love.
He IS.....all I ever need.....more than all I could ever want.......
ALL and EVERYTHING.
So, is understanding that He is all we ever need, number 45? Keep counting! Love you.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm past 60 now on my His Wonderful Gifts Page. I quit adding the numbers in the text because...well...it got complicated and distracted me in the middle of a paragraph or sentence. This is much easier and I just put all my gift on the other page.
ReplyDelete.....and still counting!!!