Exodus 3:14 The words “I am” are translated from the Hebrew word hayah, which is the verb “to be” associated with God’s proper name, Yahweh. Hayah is translated elsewhere in the Bible (75 times in total) as: was, come to pass, came, has been, were happened, become, pertained, and better for thee. “I am” is a wise translation in this context because God is indeed always the existing one, the eternal one. “I am” is not God’s name; rather, it is what He is. The English words “the LORD” in verse 15 are the Hebrew word “Yahweh.” God’s name is Yahweh, which means existing one, eternal one.
YAHWEH MEANS EXISTING ONE, ETERNAL ONE.
Jeremiah 23:23 and 24 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD [Yahweh], “And not a God far off? “Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?” declares the LORD [Yahweh]. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD [Yahweh].
Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.
Omnipresent implies two things – 1) Yahweh is in every location and 2) Yahweh is in every location all the time.
Psalms 139:1-16 God is omnipresent.
The sinful tendency of man, the man of the flesh, is to run from God and hide. Such was the case with Adam and Jonah − the former because of sin and the latter to avoid doing God’s will. Yahweh is present everywhere all the time. Even in the darkest hour, we should run to and not away. He is always found if we acknowledge His presence. Our focus determines what we experience and do not experience in any given moment. Right now we can focus on Yahweh and commune with Him because He is present now.
To be conscious of Yahweh’s presence in the current moment is the single most important task of the Christian life, and no discipline is more foundational or transforming than this one.
Brother Lawrence, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, Frank Laubach, and Gregory A. Boyd have all written material on this subject. I do not agree with their basic doctrine, but on this subject, they all provide helpful insight.
Frank Laubach suggests a game he called “Game with Minutes.” This game challenges us to bring God to mind one second of every minute for one hour. He called it a game because he wanted it to be light and because he found it to be a delightful experience and an exhilarating spiritual exercise.
Yahweh – God is love
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 Yahweh chose Israel because He loved them and because He kept His oath to their forefathers.
Deuteronomy 10:14-22 Yahweh’s relationship with Israel originated with Him by His choice.
Exodus 34:6 and 7 – “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
Numbers 14:18 and 19 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ “Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your loving kindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Isaiah 43:1-7
1 John 4:9 and 10 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:19 We love, because He first loved us.
We may be unaware of it, but we are all driven by a desperate need to feel like we matter. Gregory Boyd wrote − “One of the most fundamental aspects of the life we long for is our undeniable, universal need to experience worth and significance.” Dale Carnegie said – “The desire for a feeling of importance is one of the chief distinguishing differences between mankind and the animals. If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character. That is the most significant thing about you.”
Many things can make us feel worthwhile, at least for a time; our deepest hunger for significance, however, can only be fulfilled in rightly relating to Yahweh. This hunger is common to all and should drive us to Yahweh; nevertheless, far too often for far too many, it becomes the motivation for involvement with false gods. Whatever we try to derive our core sense of worth and meaning from is our god. False gods can be power, possessions, sex, fame, religion, relationships, family name, ethnic heritage, national identity, sexual gender, profession, rebellion, and on and on.
GOD LOVES YOU IS THE REASON YOU ARE SIGNIFICANT!
