The Great I Am
But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”
God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”
But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:11-14
Many of you know the name of John Madden. Some of you may have heard about his passing on Tuesday. For those of you who do not know him, he was a pro football coach who later became who many believe is the greatest sports commentator of all time. He made the complex game of football easy to understand for even the most novice viewers by utilizing diagrams on the screen and making odd noises to describe various actions in the game. If you ever heard someone go ‘Boom’ or ‘Whap’ or ‘Doink,’ during a sports broadcast, that was John Madden.
My fondest memory of him was watching a game that was coming down to the final seconds. The game was seemingly lost for one side until their best player, who would year later be enshrined the Pro Football Hall of Fame, came on the field. He made great play after great play until his team got into the end zone for the winning score. This is all the while as John Madden is jubilantly describing each play this player made. When the winning score was made, he made one of the most profound statements that I keep in my head when describing excellence. Madden said that a defensive coach can draw up a great scheme to stop the other team, and his players can execute that scheme to perfection where it would stop almost anyone. But the greatest offensive players are so gifted and talented that they can overcome even the perfect scheme. His said simply, “You can’t coach against greatness!”
This takes me to the greatness of God. All of us who can testify of this can speak of when life has thrown us incredible obstacles and barriers that we ourselves could not overcome. But we serve an awesome and amazing God who can overcome anything we are facing. The spiritual song of ‘Take My Hand Precious Lord,’ begins:
Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, Lead me home.
I circle back to my favorite story in the Bible: Moses and the Burning Bush. I take heart in this story because it reassures me God is who He says He is. Much like John Madden describes greatness, the enemy can set up the perfect trap, and we may find ourselves lost in the forest with nowhere to go. But we only need to rely on God and trust in His will to go beyond what either we can see or our enemy and circumstances may bring against us. Why? Because you can’t coach against God’s greatness!
There is no burden that our God cannot handle. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) As we head into another New Year’s with some of us filled with feelings of uncertainty, frustration, and apprehension, we can have confidence in the one we simply call ‘The Great I Am.’ Thus, let us march into the year knowing that Team Jesus not just the best player but the greatest of all-time! What do you need to let go of and trust God with today? How can the reassurance of God’s presence in your life give you confidence to move forward? My prayer is that we remember we stand with greatness on our side; the great I Am! Amen, and Happy New Year!