OCTOBER 13, 2015
Burning
Questions
“I
am who I am”— Exodus 3:14
Read:
Exodus
3:1-6,10-14
An old Native American
story tells of a young boy who was sent into the woods alone on an autumn night
to prove his courage. Soon the sky darkened and the sounds of night filled the
air. Trees creaked and groaned, an owl screeched, and a coyote howled. Even
though he was frightened, the boy remained in the woods all night, as the test
of courage required. Finally morning came, and he saw a solitary figure nearby.
It was his grandfather, who had been watching over him all night long.
When Moses went deep
into the desert, he saw a burning bush that didn’t burn up. Then God began
talking to him from the bush, commissioning him to go back to Egypt and lead
the Israelites out of cruel slavery to freedom. A reluctant Moses began to ask
questions: “Who am I that I should go?”
God simply answered,
“I will be with you.”
“Suppose I . . . say
to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What
is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
God replied, “I am who
I am. . . . [Say to them,] I am has sent me to you’ ” (Ex. 3:11-14). The phrase
“I am who I am” can be interpreted, “I will be who I will be” and reveals God’s
eternal and all-sufficient character.
God has promised
always to be present with those who believe in Jesus. No matter how dark the
night, the unseen God is ready to respond appropriately to our need.
Dear Father, thank You for Your never-changing character.
God is always present and at work.
INSIGHT:
Moses’ early life was marked by great
opportunities for education, and his status as prince of Egypt allowed him to
speak with great authority (Acts 7:22). How different from his life in the
Midian desert, where he served his father-in-law as a shepherd, even as God
prepared him to lead His people out of Egypt. Bill Crowder
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015