As we enter the new year, I have once again chosen a word on which to focus my pursuit of a closer relationship with our Lord. My word is “consistency”. Before I discuss the reason for which I chose this word and the significance of it’s meaning, let me say a bit about the process. I was challenged several year ago to practice this form of spiritual discipline and it has been helpful in my growth process. I would encourage each of you to consider doing the same. All you need to do is think about a quality or characteristic of God that is meaningful to you. Then spend time throughout the year seeking new truth about that characteristic. Once you discover truth about God’s character, search for ways to increase this characteristic in your own life to become more like Christ. Find a web site that allows Bible searches and study helps and get busy. I find biblegateway.com to be helpful.
I chose the word “consistency” because this is a characteristic of God that is very important to me right now. We live in a world of uncertainty. Change seems to be the norm. People and circumstances we once thought we could depend on are proving to be unreliable. Our country that once supplied a sense of freedom and safety, now is unsettled. The “United” States is flirting with threats of civil war.
However, amid all this confusion, our Lord has not, and will not change. Hebrews 13:8 promises us that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This means we can go back to the Scriptures and see how God has protected and cared for his people throughout the centuries and be assured this same care is available to us. We can look at how God empowered Moses to stand against the most powerful government of his day and declare that God was in control. We can learn from the life of Christ that he has power over all circumstances. He healed the sick, calmed the storms, and even conquered death with his own resurrection.
The most vivid description of this consistency is given to us in Exodus 3. Moses is called by God to go to Pharoah and demand the release of the Israelites from slavery. In his apprehension, Moses asks God, “Whom shall I say is sending me?” God gives this amazing answer in Exodus 3:14, 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.’” Those two simple words, I AM, are some of the most profound in Scripture.
With them, God is declaring that he is eternal. He is always in the present. He did not say, “I was” or “I will be” but I AM. His eternalness guarantees his consistency. He is not in the process of learning or growing or becoming more than he was. God has always been and always will be all knowing, all powerful, and present anywhere. What he says and does is dependable. This declaration also assures us that God understands us fully. Not only did he create us in his own image, but he perfectly knows the very thoughts and actions of everyone from the beginning of time to the end of this age. We can’t surprise him, nor can we confuse him. He is consistent.
As amazing as this is, it is even more comforting to know that our Savior, Jesus, has the same characteristic. The intimacy we can have with Jesus through his Holy Spirit includes this promise of consistency. Over the next several weeks, we are going to look at the many times Jesus declared himself to be the I AM, the perfect, holy, eternal one who sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.