Scripture

Exodus 3:13-14 (New International Version)

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and 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 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.’”

Consider

God told Moses to call him, I AM WHO I AM. Another way to translate this name is, I will be who I will be. The name tells us that God is the fixed point in all that is. He needs no reference point to define who he is or affirm his worth. In fact, he Himself is the reference point that gives definition and value to all else in his creation.

The very words, “I am,” also describe a special longing that we humans all share in wanting to be recognized and affirmed. We want to be seen and appreciated. We want our lives to matter. It is not wrong or arrogant to desire validation but rather an affirmation that we are made in God’s own image. Of all his creation, we alone are self-aware. We alone have been entrusted with a soul that yearns for significance.

God designed us to find our significance in him. Our yearning pulls us like a magnet to seek our Creator as the reference point that tells us who we are and why we matter. For this reason, many of our relationship troubles can be traced to our setting up other humans—instead of God—to be our reference point and looking to them to affirm our identity and value. No matter how much they love and value us, however, other humans cannot give us the perfect affirmation we seek. Inevitably, they will fail to appreciate our “I am” and trigger our hurt and resentment.

The next time you find yourself feeling hurt and resentful, consider whether you are disappointed because another person has failed to affirm your “I am” as only your Creator can.

Pray

FATHER, you are the only absolutely fixed point in my life, the only One who is perfectly steadfast, good, and trustworthy. Help me to recognize when I am unfairly expecting others to complete me as only you can. Give me grace to forgive them and wisdom to realize that only you can satisfy my need for significance and see my “I am” fully and without distortion.

Reflect

Psalm 8:4; Luke 12:7

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What does the Bible tell you about why you matter?