Laugh Because...

 

“Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.” (Psalms 143: 8)

One possible personal translation of this might be,

“God, cause me to hear Your devoted love of Your redeeming (rescuing) me from my enemies at daybreak, for I have put my total trust in You alone. Teach me know—to perceive, recognize, acknowledge, and confess—You and Your ways in which I should live, for I give You my soul—my whole being. I desire to come before you in total faith, with love, by confession of Your might and sovereignty, so I offer myself to You as Your servant and child.”

The psalmist stated his enemies pursued him, wanting to kill him. Because of this, his inner being fainted in fear. The psalmist grew weary of his enemies’ dogged pursuit of his life. Then he remembered Yahweh God, whom He knows intimately, and His works. This recollection and the writer’s circumstances compelled him to seek God. The writer acknowledged only God could rescue him. None surpasses Yahweh, thus he raised his hands in petition, offering, and praise.

What did the psalmist want? To escape the fear of capture and death. To have peace. How can we be sure of this? Read the rest of this psalm. His requests to God included:

First, in verse nine, the psalmist wrote, “Deliver me from my enemies.” His request came from recognizing God is almighty. The psalmist understood that God is the only being who can rescue him in totality—in heart, mind, body, and spirit. Ultimately, only God had the power to redeem him from every enemy.

Second, in verse ten, the psalmist said, “Teach me to do Your good will. May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” The writer wanted more than bodily and emotional redemption. He wanted to know Yahweh better. He acknowledged the existence of the Holy Spirit and requested God's constant presence. The Spirit would teach and guide him to know God and to live his life for God and His purposes. The psalmist asked God to lead him on level ground, without difficulties. Avoiding life’s struggles is a human inclination, but don’t we often learn more by walking with God “through the valley of the shadow of death?” The crucible of fire in our lives grows us. Those are the times of testing, of practicing what we have learned, so we reinforce the lessons taught. The psalmist acknowledged God with his whole being in this verse. He wanted to learn (head and spirit) from God so he would live (body, mind, heart, and spirit) for God.

Third, with verse eleven, the psalmist appealed to God’s reputation. People had heard about His mighty acts and His children. The writer said, “So that people continue to see You as almighty and sovereign over Your people and creation, revive me.” By “revive me,” the psalmist meant more than just for others so they would remember and/or see God. He asked God to show Himself to him so he would not fear that his enemies would overcome him. The psalmist asked God to revive him by the fullness of His favor and love because of God’s righteousness. (God alone knows the right course of action.) The writer stated and requested, by God’s rightness, by His omniscience and omnipotence, to bring the psalmist’s soul (his being) out of distress. The psalmist recognized God’s rescuing of him in his time of distress, which affected his heart, mind, body, and spirit. This rescuing of his life, the writer stated, affected his eternal being, his soul, too. According to the psalmist, God rescues his entire being, not just a portion. God’s righteousness and redemption affected his eternity. God is sovereign over time, including before it begins and after its conclusion. He rescues people from trials and redeems them from eternal separation. God is the God of time, including before and after time. To this eventual and eternal future, the writer stated his hope and his faith in Yahweh God, the self-existent One.

Fourth, because of this recognition of God’s sovereignty and might and his confidence in God, the psalmist repeated his plea in verse twelve. “Because of Your loving devotion to Your people, to me, remove my enemies from chasing and harming me.” He emphatically repeated this by writing, “Wipe out (exterminate) everyone who harasses me.”

The psalmist recognized, remembered, acknowledged, and confessed God as Sovereign and almighty. By his plea, he proclaimed that God, in His omniscience and omnipotence, possessed the ability to rescue him mentally, emotionally, bodily, and in his spirit. This psalmist explained God could redeem him beyond temporal time—for eternity. This man wanted rescuing from his current enemies and believed God could and would fully redeem his being eternally by saving his soul.

In remembering Yahweh God, the psalmist may have laughed, knowing within his entire being that his enemies were incapable of ever separating Him from God (Romans 8:31-39). When your enemies harass and afflict you, do you laugh because you know God with your heart, soul, mind, and body and believe He has redeemed you for eternity as His own child?

Laugh in the face of your enemy.

How? Profess faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and your Savior and be saved.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

The psalmist recognized God’s might and sovereignty and offered himself to God as His servant and child because of his trust and belief in God. Do you?

Peace

Paul wrote this passage in Romans 8 for us and others for such a time as this. Read what he wrote to encourage the Roman believers.

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 [NLT])

Nothing can ever separate us from the Love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not coronavirus. Not lack of ventilators. Not slowness of a countries' leadership. Not lack of medicine or lack of beds. NOTHING can separate from God those who have been cleansed by Jesus' death, those who have believed He is the Son of God, who came to take away the sins of the world.

What are you letting cause you distress and inner turmoil at this time? That is just Satan trying to make you forget Who is mightier, most faithful, most loving, most merciful, most gracious, ever-present, all-knowing, and almighty. Don't forget about YAHWEH God, the Alpha and Omega, from before time and beyond time. He is greater than anything Satan throws at you. YAHWEH GOD is our KING, LORD, SAVIOR, CREATOR, PROVIDER, HEALER, REDEEMER, FATHER, SHEPHERD, and the ONE AND ONLY GOD! There is no other God!

So, what is bothering you and unsettling your mind today? Pray to God. Ask Him to help you cast Satan away from you. Pray Scripture. Read God's promises. Proclaim them aloud. Listen and sing songs of praise and worship to God. Proclaim Him your GOD! He is with you in every breath your lungs take, in every beat your heart makes, in every breeze that blows across your arms, and in every sight of His creation you glimpse. Praise GOD for even the rocks will cry out, "Hosanna to the King of kings!"

If you are struggling with the overwhelming news from this pandemic and are worried about now and the future, you can message me, and we can chat. If you want to pray with me, we can pray. If you just want to know you are not alone, write to me and we can talk. God is with us, for us, and in us since we are His children by His grace and mercy given to us through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

May God bless you today as you

seek Him,

find Him, and

gain His strength to walk through your day.

Jesus told His disciples, "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So, don’t be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27 [NLT])

Accept His peace. It's right there, just accept it.

Hardened Heart, God Revealed

“So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.’” Exodus 4:23 [NASB]

In earlier studies of God’s “I am” (anoki/ani) statements in the Old Testament, we learned God told Abram He is his shield (his Protector and King). He told Abimelech, a non-Hebrew, He knew and restrained him (all-knowing and all-powerful). God told Isaac and Jacob He is faithful to His covenant with their ancestor Abraham; He is loving, Blesser, Protector, Keeper, all-knowing, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, transcendent, Provider, and Restorer. He told Moses He would always be with Him, is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is faithful, and deserves worship. In Exodus 3:14-15, God revealed His name for the first time. God told Moses His name is “I AM WHO I AM” (ehyeh asher ehyeh or Hayah or Yahweh). He said He is the self-existent One. God is the eternal God who was, is, and forevermore will be. He is the unchanging, eternal, self-existent One. God continued to speak to Moses in Exodus 4:11-15 by calling him to be His mouthpiece, though Moses felt and expressed his fear of being unable to be His spokesman. He doubted his ability, forgetting God prepares those whom He calls for His service. He reminded Moses He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, Creator who gives people their mouths and makes one able to speak or not. God commanded Moses to go and speak, and He would guide His mouth; He would be His Teacher. Still Moses feared his inability, then God provided a mouthpiece for Moses through his brother Aaron.

The next time God said I AM using anoki or ani was in Exodus 4:23, immediately after He told Moses he would be His mouth and speak to the Israelites. In Exodus 4:21-23, the LORD, Yahweh, told Moses he would perform His wonders before Pharaoh, but He would cause Pharaoh’s heart to harden and not let the Hebrews go. It seems odd that God would cause Pharaoh’s heart to harden against His command to let His people go. Why would God do that? We need to notice, when Moses would speak with Pharaoh, it would be the second time recorded in the Old Testament that God said “I am” to a non-Hebrew. Why is this significant? It shows God is God over all people, not just the Hebrews. He is over all other gods, those that humans create. It shows His care and love for every person. Because God is Creator of all people and things, God cares about everyone and wants them to know (yada) Him and be in a loving, saving relationship with Him. Most importantly, we learn from this passage, God can cause or allow things to happen that seem negative to show His might. He might cause or allow a person to have a hardened heart against Him to show His might over a situation, like the Hebrews’ release when He convinced Pharaoh through the many plagues that He is stronger than him so let His people go. God is greater than any person and created thing.

When a person hardens his/her heart against God that person chooses to be his/her lord over his/her own life. He/she effectively states, “I will do what I want to do no matter what You say, God. Though I hear You, I will ignore You.” Pharaoh considered himself, as his ancestors did, a god of the Egyptians. He felt his word was final, and he was almighty, nothing could go against him. Isn’t that the way we each feel when we choose to do what we want even though we know or sense God prompting us to do something else? In this passage, even before Moses confronted Pharaoh, God told him Pharaoh would say no each time he told him God says, “Let My people go.”

God knew Pharaoh’s heart. He foretold to Moses what would happen. God prepared Moses for Pharaoh’s stubbornness even though He realized it might cause Moses to balk again at speaking to Pharaoh. In this passage, God showed He is all-knowing, faithful, covenant-keeper, all-mighty, and Yahweh. God knows when each of us will be stubborn. He knows us and is prepared to show us Who is Yahweh. God allows us to make our own decisions; that’s free will. Still He doesn’t give up on us but keeps showing Himself to us.

God wants each of us to know and love Him, to be in a saving relationship with Him. He wants us to turn back to Him, to accept His gift of salvation from our sins, and have eternal life with Him. Without God’s saving us from our sins, we would receive the judgment of eternal separation from Him our sins deserve. Every one of us do wrong things in our lives. We each deserve judgment for those sins. God offers us grace from our sins through the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who died on the cross.

God knows you. He knows about your hardened heart against Him. Still He calls to you telling you He loves you, wants to forgive you, and wants to have an eternal relationship with you. Will you harden your heart to Him and keep being your own god? There’s no future in that path.

Solomon said in Proverbs 28:13-14:

“The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy. Happy is the one who is always reverent (to Yahweh), but the one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.” [HCSB]

The writer of Hebrews implored people in Hebrews 4:7 when he said, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” [HCSB]

Lord God, I know You are real, though I try to ignore that knowledge at times. I choose to do what I want so many times and often those go against Your moral laws. That makes me my own god. Lord, please forgive me for turning my back on You and ignoring You. Forgive me my stubbornness. Lead me to desire a relationship with You and make me aware of Your glory so that I am overwhelmed and realize you truly are Yahweh. Help me to realize I am just a finite, feeble, created human, but You are Almighty Creator and Savior. Amen.

Yahweh, Revered Teacher

Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  (Exodus 4:10 [NASB])

We each understand Moses’ hesitation here, his fear. Who am I that I should lead a million people? Who am I to question the leader? Who am I that I should stand up for God and what is right? Where do these doubts originate? They originate with fear, fear of inadequacy. Mostly these doubts begin with the fear that the still small voice in my conscience does not come from the all-wise and all-powerful God, Yahweh. When we doubt, we question God’s ability, wisdom, and love, and we put into question our love of God and people, our neighbors.

What did Moses say in verse ten? He said, “I have never been eloquent…for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Moses realized his natural inadequacies, or rather his fear of inadequacies, but he did not take into consideration the training God had given him or the power of God. Moses was not a servant or slave in Egypt like the other Israelites. His own mother taught him at her breast and knee about their God, Yahweh. She taught him orally about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who is all-knowing, all-powerful, Creator of all things, the Provider and Protector, and the faithful, covenanting God. Moses learned about Yahweh. Moses received the education of a prince of Egypt, too. God ensured His future leader of His chosen people was educated. Now the LORD would show Himself mightily to Moses to give him a personal knowledge of Himself.

In Exodus 3, God told Moses to go back to Egypt, speak to Pharaoh, and tell him to let His people go three days into the desert to worship Him. God realized Pharaoh would not allow it and had a plan to convince Pharaoh that He is the One and only almighty God. First, He had to prove to Moses He is absolutely God. In Exodus 4:1, Moses’ doubts about Pharaoh not listening to him about Yahweh reared its head. God proved His power to Moses with two miraculous signs (a staff turned to adder then back to staff, and a non-leprous hand turned leprous then back to non-leprous), yet Moses’ fearful mind overwhelmed his belief in the power of God. Moses’ fear overwhelmed his understanding of God’s love for himself and the Israelites. He had forgotten the faithful LORD of the Israelites who covenanted with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. Moses allowed his fear to put a blanket (blinders) over his heart’s eyes so he could not see almighty God, just his human, fallible self.

Moses pleaded his case with Yahweh of his own inability, not recognizing Yahweh’s ability to make Moses what He called him to be, His spokesman. Three times in the next five verses, Yahweh unveiled to Moses who He is. He used anoki statements in verses eleven, twelve, and fifteen. Remember, anoki statements are God’s revealing His nature to humanity. Anoki in Hebrew means “I am.” With anoki statements, God showed His nature to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abimelech in Genesis. The LORD told Abraham He is His King, Protector, and faith. He told Abimelech He is all-knowing and all-powerful. The LORD told Isaac and Jacob He would bless them, be with them, protect them, lead them, and is ever-present, almighty, faithful, transcendent, and imminent. Yahweh disclosed His nature to Moses in the burning bush giving His ultimate statement saying, “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14. This meant to Moses the LORD is the self-existent One, unchanging, eternal, the One Who was before time, is during time, and will be after time ends. Each time Yahweh reveals Himself to humanity, He seeks for people to know Him better, to draw near to Him, and to grow in likeness to and trust in Him. Yahweh is not just these things, He is the source of these things for those people who believe. God does not call people to do things without providing what they need to accomplish the task. Moses’ fear caused him to doubt or forget the revealed Yahweh.

Yahweh God replied to Moses in verses eleven and twelve. He reminded him He is Creator and has all power and authority. God said to Moses, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, sighted or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say."  He told Moses, I am Yahweh, the self-existent One and I am all-powerful. Next, Yahweh gave him a command. “Now go!” Moses’ fear still blinded him to the reality of God, His power, wisdom, might, and authority. He heard God’s command, but just like a frightened mule, he would not budge. Moses said in verse thirteen, “Please Lord, send someone else.” Notice Moses didn’t call God the LORD, but Lord. He gave Him the title for one revered but didn’t recognize Him in his heart and mind as almighty God. His doubting caused him to falter and faint.

Next, we read the LORD’s anger “burned” against Moses. This brings a fear into my heart and it should have to Moses, too. Why do we doubt and fear until God’s anger at our unbelief burns against us? Why can’t we act when asked? The LORD realized Moses’ faith in Him was too small and so provided what He needed to bring His people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt. God recognized Moses trusted most what he could see and what he knew. Moses knew and trusted his brother and so God sent Aaron to Moses. With verse fifteen, God said, " You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I (anoki) will teach you what to do.” Moses realized he heard God, but he feared Pharaoh more than God. He recognized Aaron “was glad in his heart" to see him (verse 14) and respected him because he trusted that Moses had encountered God at the burning bush. So, when God told Moses to tell Aaron and put His words into his mouth, Moses believed God. Moses trusted Aaron and feared God more than him. He trusted God to help them both speak and to teach them what to do. God showed Moses something new of His nature in this verse. He taught him He is Teacher. Being the most wise, power, Creator God is also the most wise, most knowledgeable Teacher. Moses, as a highly educated man, revered teachers and looked up to them. God as Teacher got Moses’ attention and reverence. God, being greater than Aaron, was the One Moses wold fear more in this new equation.

Yahweh prepared Moses for the task to which He called him. He told him what his task would be. The LORD gave Moses miraculous signs to remind him of Who He is. Still, Moses doubted and feared. He chose to be more afraid of what or who he knew personally, the Pharaoh, than the God of whom he learned about from his mother and the God with Whom he spoke in the “hard-to-believe” encounter at an unconsumed burning bush. Only when Yahweh provided someone tangible whom Moses recognized and feared less than the LORD, did Moses agree Yahweh could use him for the mighty task only He could do-set His people free.

God calls each of us who are His children to tasks for His purposes. He doesn’t call us then leave us to our own devices. God gives us from Himself everything we will need to do what He told us to do. From God who is (anoki) all-power, all-wise, all-knowing, all-mighty, Creator, faithful, love, Protector, Provider, Teacher, Shepherd, Savior, et al., He gives to each of us what we need to do what He asks. God is these things and the source of these things. These are gifts from His nature. God shows Himself to us to grow us, teach us, draw us near to Him, and to show us He is all we need for all things in life.

What keeps you from saying yes to God and becoming His child through faith in Jesus Christ? What keeps you from saying yes to God in doing the task to which He calls you now? It’s fear. Fear you are wrong to believe in God Whom you think you cannot see. Fear people will laugh at you and mock you. Fear instead of love. A love for God Who saves. A love for the people to whom He tells you to speak. We should remember what Paul said in Romans 8:31. He said, “If God is for us, who is against us?” Nothing we fear can stop God. With God, nothing can stop us. Consider what David said in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life: whom shall I dread?” David and Paul both realized God casts out fear. With God there is nothing to fear because He is our shield, our Protector, our King, our faith.

What keeps you today from obeying God’s command? After Yahweh called Moses, He said, “Now go!” When God calls you, He equips you with His power, His words, and His love to go and do what He said.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.  (1 John 4:15-19 [NASB])

LORD, God, You are almighty and all-knowing and I am not. I have doubted Your calling of me. I have allowed fear to stop me from accepting Your gift of forgiveness and salvation from cleansing me and making me Your child. LORD, I have run away in fear when you called me to do something that set me apart as Your child. I understand this shows my love for You and for other people is very small. Please forgive me my doubts, fear, and lack of love. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I am fit to do the tasks to which You call me. Be my strength and shield. Be my Savior and King. Amen.

Yahweh's Anoki Statements

“God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.’” Exodus 3:15 (NASB)

In Exodus 3:14, Moses saw a burning bush blaze with flames that did not consume it. It did not burn to ash. His curiosity wanted to see this amazing thing. As Moses approached the flaming bush, God called to him telling him he stood on holy ground. Moses, taught by his mother who wet-nursed him at the request of Pharaoh’s daughter, learned about the God of the Hebrew people, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he learned about the gods of the Egyptians when the hired tutor taught him. Moses was a very educated man. God had a purpose for his life.

In this story, after the burning bush, God told Moses he was the one He chose to send to bring His people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. He told Moses to speak with the Hebrew elders and Moses asked whom should he say sent him to them. Verse fourteen is God’s answer to Moses. God told him to tell the Hebrew elders, “I AM WHO I AM.” This “I am” statement is greater than the anoki studies learned from the book of Genesis. In those passages, God told Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abimelech about Himself in relation to them. He explained a part of His nature to them. In those passages, God was immanent; He was personal. He gave Abraham a promise of an heir when Abraham grieved the lack of an heir. God added that he would be the father of many descendants and nations. He explained He would be Abraham’s shield-his King, Protector, and faith. For Isaac and Jacob, God reiterated this promise, His covenant, He made with Abraham and added other facets of His nature. He said He would provide for them, be their Victor, and is all-knowing and all-powerful. To Abimelech, not from the line of Abraham, God revealed His knowledge and power. He revealed different facets of His nature to people to help them know Him and/or to deepen their relationship with Him.

The I AM whom Moses encountered in the burning bush was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as He said in Exodus 3:13, & 15-17. God identified Himself to Moses in verse fourteen as I AM WHO I AM. This name comes from the Hebrew clause ‘ehyeh ‘aser ‘ehyeh. “I am the One who is and who will be what you will need” is what this clause means. God’s revealing of His nature, His characteristics, to people with anoki statements in the Old Testament helps define for people who He is and will be for His children whenever they need Him. It’s not that He is becoming more “God,” but He, as part of who He is, will utilize whatever part of His nature and character is needed to rescue, redeem, provide for, heal, and protect, etc. His children. I AM is immanent; He is personal to each human. He cares and so intervenes in the lives of people.

With Exodus 3:15, God answered Moses’ question. Moses asked Him by whom and for what purpose should he tell the Hebrew elders he went to them.  God called Himself I AM. Moses asked for a name. God named himself in verse fifteen. He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.” Did you catch what God said? He said, “The LORD…This is My name forever.” The Hebrew word translated as LORD in this verse and wherever in the Bible you see LORD written all in capital letters is Yhvh. No one knows exactly how to pronounce this word. The Israelites felt the name of God was so sacred no one should speak or write it, so they noted it with a tetragrammaton. The Hebrew language of the Old Testament did not have vowels in its alphabet, hence the spelling of God’s name with no vowels. English translators of the Old Testament added the vowels, so English-speakers could read the LORD’s name. They wrote it in the Old Testament as Yahweh. In the New Testament, the English translation of the Greek word for LORD is Jehovah. The important thing to remember is God gave Moses His name. He named Himself Yhvh (Yahweh). Most often whenever an Old Testament character spoke about God helping him or her, they spoke about Yhvh, the immanent (personal) God. The One Who is as near to you as your next breath.

Yhvh is the One who interacts with humanity in the Old Testament. He is the one who makes the anoki statements and says, I am your shield to Abraham (Genesis 15:1), I am the God of your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 26:24 and 28:15), and I know your heart and have kept you from sinning against me (to Abimelech, in Genesis 20:6). Yahweh (Yhvh) used anoki statements when He spoke to Moses in Exodus 3:12,14, & 16-17. In verse twelve, He said He would be with Moses and the Israelites. In verse fourteen, Yahweh told Moses to tell the Israelites He sent Moses to them and would be with them. With verse sixteen, Yahweh told the Israelites and Moses He is the One most concerned about them. Yahweh revealed His nature to Moses in verse seventeen as the Deliverer/Savior/Redeemer and Provider.

In each of these verses, Yahweh made the anoki (I am) statements that revealed to humanity another part of His nature/character. These individual parts of his character did not singly define Him. Yahweh is the whole of His being. He is self-existing, or as translated by the Jews, He is the “existing One.” Yahweh was before time was created, is now, and will be after time ends. He defines time, which is His creation, just as He defines what is human, cow, serpent, earth, star, moon or any other created thing. Yahweh has always been and will always be. He made “I am” statements to Old Testament people to reveal Himself to them to begin, restore, or grow a relationship. Yahweh, our Elohim (God), draws people to Himself because He desires to have a relationship with us. His character of love shows the different parts of His nature (to provide, keep, protect, save, redeem, forgive, lead, etc.) to people.

God is holy. His love is pure. Humanity is tainted by self-interest and self-serving to the extent we do things against other people and God to get what we want. This selfishness is sin and creates a wall between Yahweh and us because He is holy, and we are not. Holiness and sin cannot be in the same place. Because of that, God provided from the beginning of time a way for humanity to receive cleansing from sin and unholiness. The way He provided was through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, as the judgment for and cleansing of our sins. Yahweh loves us enough to provide this self-sacrificing gift, so we can be in a relationship with Him.

The apostle John said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) God did that for humanity, for all people. Yahweh, the always “existing One”, desires to be in a relationship with you. He has revealed Himself to you through the Bible, teaching, preaching, and in personal (immanent) ways. These personal ways are like when He provides you a job and food, or keeps you safe in hazardous situations, or protects your reputation, or gives you a family. God shows Himself to each of us personally for each of our individual needs through the different attributes of His nature. He has been in your life providing, protecting, leading, gifting, etc, hoping you would see Him and desire to be in a relationship with Him. These were His anoki statements to you. Yahweh made it possible. Will you accept His love, forgiveness, and salvation? God is waiting for you to open the door to your heart and life to Him.

God, so often I have worked hard to give myself something or provide for my family. I have not recognized you as Yahweh, the existing One who loves me and wants a relationship with me. I have not recognized You as the One who has given me everything I have, protected me, and guided me. I have taken all the glory and praise. You have made Your anoki statements in my life and I have not listened to You. Please forgive me for my self-centeredness. Forgive me for my sins and keeping my back turned to You. Lead my heart so I desire a relationship with You. Teach me how to grow more like You. Lord, I surrender myself and all I have to You.