Think about it.
Tonight at small group this was brought up and it made me think why the emphasis on I AM...we have many religious songs that include this phrase or calling of God. What does that mean?
TO ME:I ask myself, who am I? Who are YOU, God? Who am I in Your image? I am, He says.
Of course then I reply, You are what? Help me out here! And I FEEL like now that we are struggling/stressed in so many aspects in every situation and place I'm seeking answers, there God is saying. I am. HE is it. He's the answer and these are the ways that I see "I AM" in my life.
Exodus 3:14-God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
These are the questions I ask...and how God answers with I am...
I need money and provisions, I don't know how I'm going to even get groceries or be able to pay student loans back...God says I am...He is the provider.
Psalm 54:5-Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
I have no idea what I want to do with my life and feel like I'm at a dead end with my degree...God says I am, I have a path for you.
Jeremiah 29:11-13-For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Lord I am broken and I am ugly with all of my scars. I just, I'm not good enough because of my past, I don't compare to what others are...God says I am, I have made you in MY image.
Isaiah 61
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.
This verse is special to me, because this is the verse God has given to me for my life. Tonight I was reminded by the LOVELY, amazing, Godly women in my small group...I am...what does that mean when I say: I AM Felicia, I AM a child of God, I AM a bride to be, I AM a daughter and sister and friend...what does that mean? DO I speak with the confidence knowing that the GREAT I AM, made me in HIS image? Just a great way to think about it, especially while I am struggling with this fast and what I can or cannot eat. Am I putting my food and LIFE preferences before God's will? I pray that you will ask God and listen to His I am answers. Sometimes it's hard to understand what that means, but we have to seek Him and see what all He is wanting to be for us, because he's willing to be it all when He says "I AM".
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