I am Who I am

PRAYER PRACTICE

Spoken Prayer – Out loud, pray for God to speak to you through your reading. Praise God for giving us His word. Ask the Spirit to help you read with faith, and to live out what you hear from God through the passage.

DAILY READING

Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; 4:10-17

REFLECTION

I am Who I am

by Elaine Pierce

As we continue to 'open the book' and engage with God's word, we come face to face with another fascinating character. Moses is one of those people who is well-known outside of the Judeo-Christian world. Everyone knows about Moses saying to Pharaoh, "Let my people go!" We can picture him in his flowing robes, long hair, his staff firmly in hand, as he confronts the most powerful man on the planet and tells him he is not going to obey him any more. And of course we know about how he parts the Red Sea - miracle upon miracle take place as he leads the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land.

But before he does all of that, he has an encounter with God that is almost indescribable. God calls to him from a burning bush - a bush that is consumed with fire but is not consumed by the flames. He meets the one true God in this burning bush, and God reveals his plan to Moses. He is going to use Moses to bring his people out of slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey.  

So Moses quickly agrees to this plan. Well, not exactly. Moses comes up with lots of excuses about why he's not the right guy for this job.  

-I'm not a good speaker.  

-I don't even know your name for sure, God.

-The people won't believe me. They know about my past, and they don't trust me. 

- Send someone else.

God is patient with Moses (until he's not - see Exodus 4:14). And you know how this story turns out:  Moses and his brother Aaron lead the people out of slavery, and 40 years later, they finally enter the promised land. Lots and lots of missteps and adventures along the way.  

So where do we go with this passage of scripture? We can focus on how Moses finally realizes that when he trusts God, God will provide what he needs to be the leader of these chosen people. Or we can focus on the character of God. When Moses asks God to tell him his name, God responds like this:

"I am Who I am." (Exodus 3:14). And then he reminds Moses that he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This is a God unlike all other gods. He cannot be controlled; he cannot be fully known. Moses knows the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He knows God's faithfulness to his unfaithful people.  

God remembers his people. He hears their cries. He will accomplish his purposes. And he will use Moses. He will use you. He will use me. We aren't perfect, but when God calls, let us answer.