I AM

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT (WHO) I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Exodus 3:13-15

There have been times in my life when I have been asked to do something I felt I was not qualified to do. I hated to sing, yet I was asked to lead congregational singing. I was asked to preach and had no idea how to even prepare for a sermon. I was asked to lead an addictions’ ministry when I really did not have a clue of what I was doing. I am not sure if we are even doing it right now, but God has been and is working, and we are going on our sixth year. In the times we feel ill-prepared, it requires us to turn to a God who equips those He calls.

My sister-in-law was involved in a serious accident when she was 14 years old, and things did not look good for her. She was pretty banged up and rushed to the trauma center for evaluation. Her friend did not survive the crash, but my sister-in-law did not have any life threatening injuries, for which we were all grateful. Our pastor came to the hospital to show support and to pray for the family. He was there in our time of need, and we were grateful for how quickly he showed up. He brought hope and comfort to us and the rest of the family, and while he was there, he took the opportunity to ask me something that totally shocked me.

Our pastor was not shy to ask for things, and he also was one to give service opportunities to people whom few pastors would offer. He pulled me to the side and asked me to teach the teen class on Sunday, which was the following day. I was five years from being a teen myself and had no material or plan from which to teach or prepare from. He told me to speak about my sister-in-law and talk about how precious life is, and how important it is to do the right thing. It is true that when you are young, you do not think of the brevity of life as at times you feel invincible. I agreed to do it, but I was nervous as to what I would say and how what I would say would be received. My pastor assured me the teens would love me, and that it would not be a big deal.

I woke up the next day nervous as can be, and I was not as confident in me as my pastor seemed to be. I shared my heart that day and gave some verses that I had looked up the night before. I am pretty sure my lesson would not qualify for lesson of the year, but I am grateful for how God used me that day. I look at Moses and how he went from wandering and working in the wilderness to be asked to lead a great nation. Moses had his reservations and even questioned God as to what he would say when he was challenged about his qualifications. God answered him with five words that would give him all the qualification one could ever have, “ I AM THAT (WHO) I AM.” He was telling Moses that He would be with Him, and there would be no need for anyone or anything else. God is all sufficient and if He is with you, then you have all that you could ever need.

What is God calling you to do, and are you questioning Him because you don’t feel “qualified” to do it? Do you believe God would call you to do something that He would not enable you to do? Are you willing to become weak so that He may show His strength through you? Moses is in the hall of faith because He took God at His word and trusted Him to do what He said He would do. Will you trust Him today? God may not have you lead millions of people through the wilderness, but He may lead you to teach a class or drive a bus or talk to your neighbor or … Will you answer His call today? May we trust in the great I AM, and may we allow God to use us as He sees fit for His service.