I AM

A plaque I recently read said:

I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly God was speaking:
“MY NAME IS ‘I AM.’”
I waited. God continued:
“When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
It is hard. I am not there.
MY NAME IS NOT ‘I WAS.’
When you live in the future,
with its problems and fears,
It is hard. I am not there.
MY NAME IS NOT ‘I WILL BE.’
When you live in this moment,
it is not hard. I am here.
MY NAME IS ‘I AM.’”

I don’t know how many sleepless nights you have had. You know those nights when your mind is racing. It could be about something that happened in the past – it could be about what is to be. So, in that rare moment you actually have to sleep your mind simply does not shut down. It takes you back or it takes you forward. It simply does not let you live in the moment.

When I read the plaque above I thought: On those sleepless nights I can change my thoughts from

I am Dana
I am unable to sleep
I am worried about what the future will bring

to

I AM has named and claimed me
Isaiah 43: 1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”

I AM gives comfort to those who need rest
Matthew 11: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, for I will give you rest.”

I AM calls us to seek first the kingdom
Matthew 6: 34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Maybe my meaning of “I am” needs some tweaking!