How to See God as Yahweh-the Great I AM ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba

Along this journey of life, we encounter great ebbs and tides. There are moments of great delight, abounding joy, beauty, and pleasures; yet, there are trials and questions that cause our hearts to tremble. Sometimes, our dreams shatter into pieces, leaving us with despair; because, we do not understand. We look around us to seek comfort and see a world of confusion, chaos, well-meaning fake narratives, philosophies, and ideologies which leave us less comforted than ever. We want to withdraw into a cocoon of darkness; yet, because we have been there, we realize there is no hope or solace there. God has proclaimed that He is Yahweh (I AM) and He bids we come to know Him, commune with Him and that there we will find peace, joy, and hope in every circumstance we face; because He is all we really need.

Over the course of this week I hope to show you that knowing this truth changes how we view everything else in life. It is the crux upon which our faith stands.

HEBREWS 11:6

he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

So, let us begin there. What does it mean that God is the Great I am? In all my attempts to write this truth, I realized I fell short. Then in my search, I found this explanation within the archives of John Piper’s sermons and wanted to begin this series by sharing this excerpt with you.

TEN THINGS IT MEANS FOR GOD TO BE WHO HE IS

God’s absolute being means he never had a beginning. This staggers the mind. Every child asks, “Who made God?” And every wise parent says, “Nobody made God. God simply is. And always was. No beginning.”

God’s absolute being means God will never end. If he did not come into being he cannot go out of being, because he is being. He is what is. There is no place to go outside of being. There is only he. Before he creates, that’s all that is: God.

God’s absolute being means God is absolute reality. There is no reality before him. There is no reality outside of him unless he wills it and makes it. He is not one of many realities before he creates. He is simply there as absolute reality. He is all that was eternally. No space, no universe, no emptiness. Only God. Absolutely there. Absolutely all.

God’s absolute being means that God is utterly independent. He depends on nothing to bring him into being or support him or counsel him or make him what he is. That is what the word “absolute” being means.

God’s absolute being means rather that everything that is not God depends totally on God. All that is not God is secondary, and dependent. The entire universe is utterly secondary. Not primary. It came into being by God and stays in being moment by moment on God’s decision to keep it in being.

God’s absolute being means all the universe is by comparison to God as nothing. Contingent, dependent reality is to absolute, independent reality as a shadow to substance. As an echo to a thunderclap. As a bubble to the ocean. All that we see, all that we are amazed by in the world and in the galaxies, is, compared to God, as nothing. “All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness” (Isaiah 40:17).

God’s absolute being means that God is constant. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot be improved. He is not becoming anything. He is who he is. There is no development in God. No progress. Absolute perfection cannot be improved.

God’s absolute being means that he is the absolute standard of truth and goodness and beauty. There is no law-book to which he looks to know what is right. No almanac to establish facts. No guild to determine what is excellent or beautiful. He himself is the standard of what is right, what is true, what is beautiful.

God’s absolute being means God does whatever he pleases and it is always right and always beautiful and always in accord with truth. There are no constraints on him from outside him that could hinder him in doing anything he pleases. All reality that is outside of him he created and designed and governs as the absolute reality. So he is utterly free from any constraints that don’t originate from the counsel of his own will.

God’s absolute being means that he is the most important and most valuable reality and the most important and most valuable person in the universe. He is more worthy of interest and attention and admiration and enjoyment than all other realities, including the entire universe.

Above Excerpt from I Am Who I Am sermon by John Piper, September 8, 2012 To hear the entire sermon please go to: http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/i-am-who-i-am–2

GOD IS YAHWEH-THE GREAT I AM

Knowing that GOD IS YAHWEH (I AM) is the key foundational truth on which our faith depends. Because our faith hinges upon our understanding this truth; we must earnestly seek to know Him. Furthermore, the greater our knowledge of God is, the greater our peace, joy and hope along this journey. He IS our greatest treasure! When trials come into our lives or we see the world around us in turmoil; knowing GOD IS Sovereign comforts our spirit and soul, because we know we can trust HIM. Our view of our own circumstances changes; because, we see them through God’s eyes, when we come to know Him as He is. Then it is that we know, beyond a doubt; that He would not allow anything to happen to His beloved child that is not meant for securing a greater joy in Him; because He is the Treasure we seek.

CONCLUDING TWEETS

[bctt tweet=”YAHWEH (I AM) Is the Almighty God who Sovereignly reigns over heaven and earth” username=”effiedarlene”]

[tweetthis]My heart and soul can rejoice in everything; because He IS.[/tweetthis]

[tweetthis]Knowing the truth of who God Is Changes how I see my trials of life[/tweetthis]

[tweetthis]Faith is knowing and understanding that God is the Great I AM[/tweetthis]

The Sinner’s Cry is an original pencil art work of Ronald Barba. It is under copyright protection laws and cannot be duplicated without written permission from the artist. For information on how to obtain this picture or to request a portrait or artwork of your own go to http://roninron.com or email at contact@roninron.com

The featured image at the beginning of the post is used by permission: https://unsplash.com/@nasa The inscription I added.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.