Seeing the I AM Clearly
Written by Kara Benson, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries
A few months ago, I had the blessing of attending the Iron Rose Sister Ministries Destination Retreat. It was an incredible experience to be surrounded by so many Spanish-speaking women of faith! I loved meeting, learning from, and growing with these Christian ladies. Hearing their personal testimonies was encouraging and worshipping together in a bilingual context was rejuvenating.
In one of her keynote addresses, Michelle made the following point: our little “I” gets in the way of seeing the great “I AM.” That statement stuck in my mind. The more I processed it, the more I realized how true it is! How many problems are caused—directly or indirectly—by me getting in the way?
A great example of this pitfall is in marriage. I love my husband. We share a lot of the same beliefs, values, opinions, and interests in life. However, that does not mean that he is me. But so often, I forget that. I expect him to think, feel, and react the same way I do. I expect him to prioritize, plan, organize a closet, load a dishwasher, set a thermostat, and decorate a Christmas tree the same way I would. And trust me, we’ve had our fair share of conflicts because of it!
It can be the same with God. Sometimes, I forget that God is not like me. From his beautiful masterpieces in nature, I know He is creative. From His amazing love letter written in three languages, I know He desires relationship. From the six days of creation followed by His cessation of labor on the seventh, I know He values hard work and rest.
But God is not like us (Psalm 50). He doesn’t get hungry; in fact, He doesn’t need anything at all. The whole world and everything in it belong to Him. God is holy. He is never indifferent to sin, even when we have a difficult time staying serious about it. God’s word judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart, whereas we cannot even judge ourselves, let alone our neighbor. God always loves us, even when others let us down. People don’t always have our best interest at heart, but God always looks out for our long-term good. We want forgiveness without a change in behavior, blessings without obedience, and love without sacrifice, but God does not. God is a merciful, forgiving, and loving consuming fire who hates sin and destroys his enemies. And that is hard to wrap my head around.
We don’t get closer to God by digging deeper into ourselves or ingesting the teachings of men. When we try to see God through the lens of ourselves, we will inevitably make God into our own image. To see the I AM clearly, I must remove myself from the picture. I must stop trying to project myself and what I like onto God and instead allow Him to define Himself through His word. It’s 2020. Are you seeing clearly?