One Year Bible: January 26

“I AM that I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

To read today’s portion of scripture, purchase The One Year Bible (paid link) or find the following in your Bible:

Exodus 2:11-3:22
Matthew 17:10-27
Psalm 22:1-18
Proverbs 5:7-14

“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?” And God said to Moses, “I AM that I AM” (Exodus 3:13:14)

Our son, Zac, is going back to the Bering Sea today. The boy we took every year to the Jennings Park Fishing Derby has graduated from trout to Opilio crab. He’s now a crab fisherman — one of only 200 men who will be out there this season. How did this happen?

I spend most of my days asking God, over and over, to line the edges of his boat with great big angels. This has a lot to do with Zac’s parting comment to me on his last trip out, when I rose at 5:00 to hug him good-bye. As he was getting into the car, I said, “Honey, don’t forget to always wear your safety gear.” He laughed and shook his head. “Mom, we don’t have safety gear.”

I thought about the little-boy-he-was when I read today’s devotional. Because all those years ago, when he was just a little older than his son is now, he asked me one day, “Mom, what is God’s middle name?”

I laughed. “I’ve never thought about that. What do you think it is?”

Without missing a beat, Zac answered. “B. J.”

“B. J?”

“Yes. His name is God B. J. King.”

Oh, how I miss that four-year old boy.

“I AM.” That’s the answer God gave Moses, when Moses asked, “Who should I say sent me?” It’s a hard name to get a grasp on unless you let yourself really think about it. God … is. There never was a time when He wasn’t. Unlike us. There was a time when we weren’t, and then a time when we were. We can say, “I was this,” or “I will be that,” because our life is about birth, and growth, and maturity, and death. But God? He simply … is.

I find great comfort in that. I like God’s “I AM-ness.” I honestly don’t know how atheists get through a day, or people who have bought the big legend that “Some material that was just out there kind of smashed together and produced life.” I always want to sit those people down and say, “Let’s not go on until we’ve settled the first question — that one you tried to breeze by. Where did all that material come from?” They can’t give an answer to that, of course. And that’s because every one of us (atheists included) has an understanding that nothing just “is.” Nothing has the ability to wish itself into existence.

So I sleep very well at night resting on the knowledge that the I AM is watching over me — not the “I was,” or the “I will be,” but the I AM.

“I AM your shield” (Genesis 15:1).

“I AM your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1).

“I AM the Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1).

“I AM the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).

“I AM the Lord who sanctifies you” (Exodus 31:13).

“I AM for you” (Ezekiel 36:9).

“I AM your salvation” (Psalm 35:3).

“I AM the Lord who makes all things” (Isaiah 44:24).

“I AM the Lord, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:5).

“I AM your Savior” (Isaiah 49: 26).

“I AM merciful” (Jeremiah 3:12).