“And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.” Exodus 3:14
What did God mean when he said, “I AM”? It means that at whatever point in space or moment in time, He is, He exists. God is the self-existent creator that existed before the existence of the time, space, matter and energy that He created. He is then, now and forever more. I AM, means He Is. The name I AM in English is rendered Jehovah in many English translations of the Bible or just “the LORD.” Please note the all caps, because if it is rendered in the Bible with all caps, it is the personal name of God – I AM or Jehovah or Yahweh. In Hebrew it’s pronounced Yahweh.
We can also render Jesus (Yeshua) as, I AM. “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58 Abraham was born almost 2,000 years before Jesus was born, but Jesus has been with the Father and the Holy Spirit eternally. They, the Trinity are the self-existent God. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6
Nothing supersedes God or His glory. God Himself even professes His own glory. God speaking of Israel said, “For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.” Isaiah 48:9 “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.” Ezekiel 36:22-23
God’s glory is paramount even to God. God has no other God’s before Him because He is God. God knows that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – God, deserve all praise, honor and glory. Is that self-centered, yes. Is it narcissistic, no, because He is the only being that is truly worthy of all praise, honor and glory. He has the right and responsibility to be self-centered. As our sovereign LORD, His deserved self-centeredness translates into His mercy, grace, love and longsuffering for his people. Not because he needs us or our adoration, but to lift up, honor and glorify Himself. All the benefits we receive are completely from Him and to His glory.
We exist to glorify Him, the universe exists to glorify Him, our salvation exists to glorify Him and who better to glorify than the creator, master and sustainer of everything – our God. The God described in the Bible. As humans, “…we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6 God is completely Holy and pure, sovereign and worthy of all praise, adoration and glory. We as humans are little more than dust in comparison.
So, for all of you that think God is there to serve you, think again. He has the master plan and He is running it according to His will and to His glory. If you pray expecting God to act according to your will, think again. It’s all about Him, not about you. If you think – nothing will happen to me, because I pray, fast or serve God, think again. We live in a fallen world full of fallen people. Bad things happen to good people. Disease, accidents, murder, cancer, natural disasters and many other things occur in our lives, whether we are Christian or non-Christian. That’s just how the world is since Adam sinned, resulting in Adam’s eventual death and the curse of God on this world.
We are nothing and God is everything. Please remember that, because I can assure you, God will always remember that He is God and we are not. Does that mean we should stop praying for our needs, wants and desires, no, certainly not, but when we pray we should always expect God’s will. When we pray, we should do it to continue to build our relationship with God. When we pray, we should always focus on His will and His glory. It’s all about HIM. As it should be. “To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 1:25