Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh- I Am that I Am

We know by know that God has been called by many things in scripture. Jehovah, Adonai, Shalom and Elohim, to name a few. Here we see one that is not used all that much- Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh- I Am that I Am. If you are familiar with any old testament history, this is what God sees to Moses in the burning bush back in Exodus chapter 3. Let me lay out some backstory.

Moses was a Israelite who, through divine intervention, found himself as an Egyptian in Pharaoh's palace. After a mishap with a bully Egyptian and a fellow Israelite, Moses flees to the desert, where he meets his wife and has 2 boys. Fast-forward 40 years. Moses is out feeding his flock when a strange occurrence catches his eye. There is a bush in the distance completely engulfed with flames, yet not burning. So, naturally, Moses goes to inspect the strange sight. As Moses approaches, a voice from the bush calls out to him and tells him to take off his sandals, for the ground where he is standing is holy ground. The voice, obviously, is God, who tells Moses that through him, God will free his people, the Israelites, from the oppression of Pharaoh. When Moses asks God how he will get the people to believe God sent him, God says this one phrase, "I Am that I Am." "I Am has sent me to you" This phrase, translated from the Greek in later translations or scripture, is defined as such- "I am the being; the existing one." Essentially, what God is saying is that the people shouldn't fear or doubt following Moses, because the one who is above all things, has instructed this man to go, and whoever goes with that authority is someone who can be trusted to follow God's instructions.

So why does God calls himself, I AM? Because God is who he says he is, wouldn't that have been enough for the people? Perhaps, maybe for a select few, just knowing God is who he says he is is enough to trust him. For others, the hardheaded ones, like myself sometimes, we need to know that God is not just a big deity in the sky, but also a helper in times of need. God saying "I Am" can really be filled in to fit whatever you need him to be in whatever season you are in. For the Israelites, they needed a rescuer- I am the Way Out. For you and I, maybe we need a healer or a guide so we don't have to walk this journey alone. - I am the Healer, I am the Guide.  God's "I Am" is God's way of saying whoever you need me to be in order to grasp how much I love you, that is who I will be for  you.
Whoever the "I Am" is to you, just trust that God will come through, no matter the time frame, or circumstance. For the Israelites, it was 400 years in Egypt, but thankfully, it won't be quite that long for us before God carries out his plan.

"I Am that I Am" "I will prove to be whatsoever I shall choose to be"

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission From God

Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul?-psalm 42

"Why, O my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God"- Psalm 42:5, 11, 43:5

Whenever something is repeated in scripture, it is probably worth focusing on. Here is one of those times. This passage is listed 3 times in 2 sequential psalms. It is believed by many scholars that not only are these two psalms in fact one, with each repeat of verse 5, the psalmist is saying it with more confidence and assurance in his soul. There are many who believe that this collection was written by someone who was down in the dumps, whether that be a physical prison or a spiritual slumber. He feels like God has forgotten him, and even the mocking of unbelievers has penetrated his soul to that point that he believes God is only present in the temple, and clearly not in his desert season where he resides at the beginning of the psalm. But then we come to verse 8. He goes from a place of "panting in my soul, as a deer pants for water" to being in the mountains of Hermon and Mount Mizar. He realizes that God's presence is everywhere.

"By day, the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life."-vs. 8

Even though his soul is not fully back to where it once was, he knows that God is with him, and always has been. As a follower of God, there will be times when our soul's are downcast because of the trials and deserts of this life, but God is still faithful, and still watching out for us.
I don't know the struggles you may be going through, whether you are being attacked on all sides, or even if God is silent in your life. Something I am certain of, God has no intention of walking away from you, someone he saw worthy enough to send his son to die for. And yes, sometimes our souls will fill forgotten, but that is only temporary. Amidst the hardship dealt to the psalmist, he remembered his past and all the places God walked him through, and that gave him the confidence to keep moving forward until he could get back into the house of God. "-let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God"- 43:3-4"

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms

*Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash