Who you are

"What shall I call you?" Moses asked God.

"Tell your people I AM has sent you."

The interchange between God and Moses fascinates me. You'd think meeting God and having him speak from a holy place (the burning bush) would be enough. That Moses would be saluting and running off to DO THE WORK he was assigned.

But nope.

Moses excuses himself in every possible way. "No one will believe me. I'm not an upfront leader. I'm a lousy public speaker. And how can I convince followers of my genuine call to lead them?"

God gets irritated and sticks to his choice. "Moses, you're going! But I won't hang you out there alone. Your brother will come with you and help you in your weak areas."

Moses, though reluctantly recruited, never looks back. He has heard the NAME that will define his relationship with God forever. It's the NAME that Moses will so reverence that Israel falls in line behind him.

Wikipedia defines the NAME this way:

Hebrew Bible
The word Ehyeh (I will be who I will be) is used a total of 43 places in the Hebrew Bible. ... The importance placed on the phrase, as it is used by God to identify himself in the Burning Bush, stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism that God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am who I am" (ongoing). 

 

The All-Sufficient One.
The Source and Provider, in the past, today, and in the future.
He's all that and more.

So how do we define ourselves in the shadow of the NAME?

1. Acknowledge the difference between the Creator and created things. God is "other." Beyond our understanding forever.
2. He knows us intimately. Your name, my name, our peers and friends ... He knows us all and cares about us day after day.
3. He chose to invite us into friendship with Himself. His intention was always loving relationship between Him and us.
4. He prepared a way for us to reconnect and live alongside Him. (Read about it in John's gospel in the Bible.) He still wants our hearts, though we chose rebellion and independence over harmony and the ultimate freedom to be fully human. 
5. Admit that He has always left the choice of knowing Him in our hands. Talk about free will: he could have made us robotic followers. It's up to me. It's up to you. He's been waiting for us, watching over us, and giving us hints of His loving presence since we were born.

Moses chose to follow. He argued, blamed God for putting him in tough spots, and got frustrated. But he'd strap on his sandals, stand in the Tent of Meeting to encounter God and get direction ... and off he'd go again.

In the process, this shepherd from the back of nowhere became a great leader, lawgiver, and prophet. The name "Moses" is familiar to many people around the world. As a youngster, God had equipped him in Pharaoh's palace and educated him through the finest tutors. Moses forgot who he was until God called him over and said the NAME.

Do you know who you are? Have you heard the NAME calling out to you and giving you purpose, whether you're known in the courts of favor or abandoned on the deserted sands?

Read more:
*I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 NIV 

*It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich. For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly. Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever. They will not be disgraced in hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough." Psalm 37:16–19 NLT

*Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Isaiah 5:21 (NIV)

*In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 2:3 

Moravian Prayer: O Master-builder of creation, may we, like wisdom, rejoice before you always, treasuring instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold. Amen.