The Great I AM
Isaiah 43:19b - I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
God is actively working in our lives. Orchestrating and creating a masterpiece that beautifully fits into His plan for all mankind….but do we actually, deep down believe this and trust it? With Christmas right around the corner, I can’t help but be in a reflective frame of mind about what God says He is going to do and what He has already done. A true, historical story about the Son of God being born, one we have heard and read many many times. It actually happened, but do our personal life experiences lead us to a knowledge that God is still presently involved in our life? There are two small, but powerful words at the very beginning of this verse in Isaiah..…I and am. Let’s take a deeper look at the truths we can find and the comfort given through them.
Long, long ago, Moses roamed the earth as a meek and lowly shepherd. He was living out his days much differently than his early years as a prince of Egypt. God was working. God was preparing Moses in ways he didn’t realize for the next thing. That next thing was the great “Exodus” of His people from slavery to freedom and that amazing story of redemption continues even for us today, and for the generations that will follow us.
God is always making a way to move His people from a prison cell of bondage to a wide open pasture of abundance and choice.
God is active, not passive. Sometimes quiet, but never absent. Ever present…see Isaiah 41:10. He cares and tends to His creation because of His great love. We can learn these truths from the compelling stories of the Old Testament. Let’s step back for a moment to the story of the burning bush. One day, while Moses was tending his flock, he came upon a burning bush unlike anything he had ever seen. A strange fire that did not consume the weak and vulnerable bush but burned with great power and intensity. God’s voice came out of the bush and proceeded to tell Moses of His plan to free His people in Egypt. Moses was struggling to make sense of all of this (can you blame him?) and asked, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, The God of our ancestors has sent me to you, they will ask me, What is his name? Then what should I tell them?. To which God replied, “I AM WHO I AM.”
I like the KJV version that says, “I AM THAT I AM”. If you say it with the inflection on that, it reads…”I AM that I AM”. As if to say to us, He is THE ONE present in every part of our story, the answer to every question and every need we have. He was and is and will be forever…all that we ever need. He is the “I AM” making the way in the desert, in our focus verse today. The “I AM” of the seven statements of Jesus in the New Testament: the bread of life, the light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and life, the way, truth, and life, the true vine. The “I AM” with you (Isaiah 43:5).
And be sure of this: I am with you always
-Matthew 28:20 NLT
God is the Great I Am. A title that no one else has or ever will. He is the God that makes provision for His people along the way even if things look desolate or dead. I would go as far as to say He especially likes to show up when things look like they are beyond hope and resurrect a situation and bring life to things beyond repair. I encourage us all to take Him at His Word today, and know that whatever you are going through, and for however long, the Great I Am is making a way and is going before you. Just keep your eyes focused intently on Him and see that He returns your gaze with eyes filled with love that would do anything for you. No mountain is too high and no valley too low…because we walk with a God who can do the impossible. Let’s keep that in our hearts as we welcome another Christmas, remembering what God has done for us and responding by trusting Him with our tomorrow!
Song: “Great I Am” By Leslie Jordan
- Jessica Ritchie
About Jessica
As a licensed esthetician, worship leader, and outdoor enthusiast, Jess is passionate about finding the beauty in everything she does, and with everyone she meets. She can often be found drawing inspiration from chasing around her 4 adventurous kids, or deep in conversation with someone where time becomes nonexistent. Recently transplanted from the PNW back to the desert, Jess helps lead worship at Arise.