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 3:13–14 NLT)
God is who he is. Nothing we do can affect that. We cannot change one iota of God’s character or attributes. In some ways, this can be quite frustrating, as God does not always conform to our expectations or desires. However, there is tremendous comfort in his constancy. Though the world around us is continuously in a state of flux, we can steadfastly trust that God is a firm center in the midst of the chaos. “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken” (Isaiah 28:16 NLT).
In this Advent season, a season marked by anticipation and waiting, it is only fitting that we spend some time in this anteroom of history – living as we do between Jesus’s birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension and his second coming – reflecting on just who it is we follow. For the next four weeks, let us set aside a few minutes each day to reflect on a small fraction of God’s character. We will be studying different attributes of God – his character traits, his persons, and even some of the roles he takes on in our world and in our lives.
For today, let us simply rest in the knowledge that God is and that nothing going on in our lives or in our world can change this fundamental fact.