Page 6 - Living Light Autumn 23

Friday September 1 - God will be with you
God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who
have sent you:... you will worship God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:12
We’ve all known days which started as just another day, yet ended as anything but! Moses rose thinking about his father-in-law’s flock, but was left with the head-spinning responsibility of leading God’s people out of the clutches of Pharaoh – without an army, any resources nor any relevant experience. Not surprisingly, this left Moses stuttering, “Who am I?”
Perhaps you are feeling that way today, struggling with something which was never on your ‘to-do list’, something beyond you, with no idea how you will cope? God’s response will be the same: “I will be with you.” This was his message to Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Jeremiah and Paul in their times of great need. It was also God’s promise to Israel (Isaiah 41:10) and Jesus’s to his disciples (Matthew 28:20). When my wife Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was understandably fearful. Just before her surgery a friend gave her Isaiah 41:13: “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you ‘Do not fear; I will help you’.” Thankfully, that promise became Carol’s reality.
When Daniel’s three friends were in the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar saw another with them (Daniel 3:25). God promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2). May this be your experience today!
Father, I thank you for your promise to be with me. May I live in the knowledge of your constant presence. Amen.
Saturday September 2 - I am who I am
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the
Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14
Much that I do in my name can be inconsequential, but that’s not so for another name – the Name that is above all other names! Moses had been told to stand before Pharaoh and demand that he let God’s people go. With whose authority dare Moses say these things? God told Moses to say, “I Am (Yahweh) sent me.”
This was more than just saying that God exists, but emphatically declaring that God was with Moses. Above the many names for God in the Bible, Yahweh stands for a perpetual testimony to his faithfulness to keep his word. God is ever present with his people to save, help, deliver, redeem, bless, and keep his covenant.
He does not depend on another; he is all-sufficient, the source of all life. What God is saying is, “I am the being one.” I am who I am; unchanging, magnificent, all-glorious... I am holiness, perfect love, I am the end of the chain of command, above all yet in all; incomprehensible yet made known by grace, in and through Jesus, Lord of lords and King of kings...
Jesus was heralded as, ‘Emmanuel, God with us’. He declared himself to be “I am” (John 8:58) and promised that another would be sent to be with us – the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). Be encouraged; this is the God who is both for you and with you!
Heavenly Father, I thank you that your presence is with me, bearing testimony that you are Yahweh, you are the great I Am. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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PRAYER FOR TODAY