I am that I am.
That was what God told Moses to tell Pharaoh if he asks who was the God that demanded that he should let the Israelites go.
We know many names our God go by, we can list them, we sing songs with them, and we sometimes take His name in vain, but there's a worse mistake we sometimes make; we put Him in a box, based on a name, and try to school Him into what we think we want at that moment.
Let me explain.
Going through the ensuing account after Pharaoh refused to set his slaves free, we see God take different actions each one showing Him in a different light. Maybe Pharaoh had made the mistake of thinking that the God of the Israelites was as feeble as the slaves were. Maybe he thought that He would be as familiar as the messenger, Moses.
He was in for a shocker
The Egyptians had gods which they believed were mighty but with each plague, I AM THAT I AM made mockery of these gods. Then He showed more power by making the land where the Israelites dwelt to be free from these plagues, and even the magicians pronounced that the happenings were of the finger of God.
I believe the last plague was not only the final blow but it was also to serve as a lesson to both the Egyptians and the Israelites.
For the Egyptians, they saw Pharaoh as a demigod and so anything that could kill his child, along with theirs had to be great. Really great.
For the Israelites, there is a tendency for humans to allow familiarity bring about disregard, disobedience or disrespect. I believe that God could have commanded the angel of death to focus on the children of the Egyptians, but He did not. Maybe He wanted to teach them obedience, I mean imagine if an Israelite refused to smear the blood on the door post as commanded. He would be termed foolish, right?
Now imagine if an Egyptian also smeared blood on his door post like he saw some Israelites doing, and the angel of death passed over his house, he would be termed wise!
God does not need us to label Him. He is mysterious.
There's this hymn I love - Crown Him with many crowns. In my mind's eye I see myself Crowning our God as all the marvelous things He can be to me. So many crowns!
He is my Maker.
My Father.
My Lord.
My King.
My Deliverer.
He is my Everything! So many crowns!
There's a mistake we Christians tend to do, we put our God in a box and see Him as something we want Him to be.
Sometimes when we actually need Him to be a Guide, we try to force Him to be a Guard.
Sometimes when we need a Friend, we try to force Him to be a Provider.
Sometimes when we actually need a Lamb, we try and force Him to be a lion.
We end up not appreciating His goodness!
He is who He is. In fact, He can be our everything. He showed the Israelites, the Egyptians and Pharaoh especially that He can be whatever He wants to be.
Only Him decides who He should be.
So when you are struggling, when you are perplexed just invite the GREAT I AM into the situation and He will be what He needs to be.
This doesn't mean we should not pray deliberate prayers, asking for what we want, we should but we should be careful not to put Him in a box.
Testimony...
A woman was due to give birth, and she had already been told medically that she had to give birth through CS as vaginal birth may be dangerous to her health. She accepted and was ready. When an elder was called to pray for a safe operation, at the end of the prayer, he added that the Lord should do His will.
The Lord did His will, and the woman gave birth safely to her child, vaginally.
He is THE GREAT I AM... Don't put Him in a box.
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