second.

i've spent the last 30 minutes writing ... and then i erased it, because i heard something and was reminded of something, that is so much more important than the words i can piece together to fill this box...

we've known our entire lives that God created us; that He knows us inside and out, ... we know that He knows our thoughts and our hearts and our words even before they come out of our mouths, even before they come through the thought process of our brains. we know this. we've listened to preachers speak to us about it, and worship leaders lead us in songs about it, how we are fearfully and wonderfully made; how He is big and we are small; how He is indescribeable and unexplainable,... and the list could go on. it's been jam-packed into sermons and books and devotionals and yet...i dont think we've actually heard what we've been told - that we've let it sink in; i don't think we really understand how great - how big - God is...

and how small we are.

I wish I had the perfect words to put into your heart ...but instead i'm simply going to share with you what really put it into perspective for me.

Let me set up the background for your first. God is talking to Moses - through a burning bush - explaining to him that he has been chosen to go to pharoah and bring God's people out of egypt. And Moses is confused as to how he (and why) is even able enough to do this because he knows the power of pharoah and that doing something like this could get him killed. and as Moses expresses his concerns God responds with ...not a peptalk to explain Moses' qualities and with a "you can do it" enthusiast voice...but instead simply tells Moses "I will be with you." As I was reading this, I tried to put myself in Moses' shoes. Here he is standing in the desert, before this burning bush, with his shoes off (holy ground remember!) and God is telling him to go rescue people from a ruler that, in that day, was so very powerful - from a ruler that with one word - could have Moses killed. Just thinking about that makes me nervous. I'm not sure I could've done it.

So Moses asks God how the people will know that God has sent him. I can imagine him telling God that the people won't believe his story (ie - there was a burning bush talking to him) - and they'll probably laugh at him. And then he asks God his name. And God simply says... "I am who I am. Tell them 'I AM sent me to you'." Again, if I were Moses I'd be real confused...imagining telling the people that I AM sent him and them looking at him like he's been in the sun too long; and his grammar is completely wacked. :) But heres where it gets good so instead of trying to make it into my own words and attempt to share it with you i'll share with you what the book I read said:

"God was telling Moses:
I AM the center of everything.
I AM running the show.
I AM the same every day, forever.
I AM the owner of everything.
I AM the Lord.
I AM the Creator and Sustainer of life.
I AM the Savior.
I AM more than enough
I AM inexhaustable and immeasureable.
I AM God.

In a heartbeat, Moses knew God's name - and something more. He finally knew his. For if God's name is I AM, then Moses' name must be I am not.

I am not the center of everything.
I am not in control.
I am not the solution.
I am not all-powerful.
I am not calling the shots.
I am not the owner of anything.
I am not the Lord...
I am not running anything.
I am not the head of anything.
I am not in charge of anything.
I am not the maker.
I am not the savior.
I am not holding it all together.
I am not all-knowing.
I am not God.

(the end).

...God is big. I am not. He is calling the shots and directing the script of our lives. He has created us, is in us, knows us intimately and perfectly, ... and He doesn't really need us to make His world work. His power and majesty does not need us ... yet He chooses to include us - to include me - in the story He has created. That simply blows my mind.

and a little bit later in the book...

God knows everything about everything and everyone. His eyes race back and forth across cosmos faster than we can scan the words on a page. There is not a bird flying through the air or perched on a branch that escapes His field of vision. He could start with Adam and name every man, woman, and child who has ever lived, describing every detail about each one. To Him, pitch darkness and midday are one in the same. Nothing is hidden from Him. He wrestles with no mysteries. He doesn't need to wait for a polygraph machine to decipher the truth. He sees clearly and comprehends all He sees. He's never known what it is like to have a teacher, a role model, an advisor, a therapist, a loan officer, an adjuster, a doctor, a mother.

God's rule and reign are unrivaled in history and eternity. He sits on an everlasting throne. His Kingdom has no end. Little gods abound, but He alone made the heavens and the earth. God has never feared a power struggle or a hostile takeover. He doesn't even have to watch His back. He has no equal. No peer. No competition.

It makes perfect sense that His name should be I AM.

and one more thing:

Though we are transient dust particles in a universe that is expanding faster than the speed of light, the unexplainable mystery of mysteries is that you and I are loved and prized by the God of all Creation. Simply because He wanted to. He fashioned each of us in His own image, creating within us the capacity to know Him. And if that wasn't staggering enough, in spite of our foolishness and rebellious hearts, God has pursued us with relentless passion and patience, fully expressing to us His unfathomable love through the mercy and grace of the cross of His son, Jesus Christ.


wow. i have no words or explanations or ways to sum this up, other than - How great is our God. :)