God is not a genie in a bottle

    When others questioned who Jesus was, He gave the simple answer “I am” using the same name as Moses heard when he asked the name of God who was speaking to him from the burning bush. This name became so sacred to His OT people that they eventually refused to say it and in most Scripture it is translated as LORD.

    Some have the idea that “I am” is an unfinished sentence that can be used like a blank check, filling in whatever is needed from God in their moment of need. Even though God loves us to come to Him when we have needs, it is not correct to use “I am” as an unfinished sentence. Again, Jesus is referring to His existence, about the fact that He is always who He is, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

    Some use this ‘blank check’ idea to say that Christians can feel as if our hearts are “full of our own wretched ‘I am’ thoughts about ourselves and make statements such as: “I am so weak,” “I am so foolish,” “I am so good for nothing,” or “I am so helpless” – all causing great discomfort in our spiritual lives because we are ignoring the “blank check of God’s magnificent ‘I Am’ that authorizes us to draw on Him for an abundant supply for every need.”

    While it is true that a focus on me and my weaknesses can cripple me, it is important to view that in light of what the Bible says about being weak. Paul experienced something that made him feel weak and unable, and God told him a great truth that many Christians miss:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8–10)

    Helplessness is not my enemy. It is my signal to trust God rather than my own strength. It is the very thing I need to live in the power of God, and He does not take away that weakness. Instead, He wants me to be content with it and to obey Him even as I feel unable to do it. This is the glory and power of God.

    And “I am” is not a blank check. It is the name of God when HE identified Himself in the OT and Jesus used to do the same. It speaks of His eternal personal nature and self-sufficiency. He does not have to go outside of Himself for anything because He is self-existent and unchangeable. “I am” is also a reminder that the God I serve is all that and more,  a term of worship far beyond a phrase to use when I want something or want something fixed to suit me.

    PRAY: Jesus, You are the great I Am, and You do promise to meet my needs, to be all that I need. However, this name is not about me or my needs. It is about You and all that You are. It is about the wonder of You and should put me on my face before You, trusting You totally rather than assuming that in Your great name You should let me fill in the blanks and get what I think I need. While this difference is challenging to explain, there is a difference implied. As God said to Moses, this name implies how I need to think of it: “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)