Don’t Define God by Your Circumstances
Exodus 3:13-14 (NIV)
Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
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.’”
Let me ask you something. How are you and God doing? What have your stretched circumstances done to the condition of your faith? When faced with your current situation, are you wondering about His relevance in your life?
I know that collectively, we are going through some difficult times right now. Individually, you are all going through something too. Maybe you’re enduring one of the toughest circumstances you’ve ever had to battle. Perhaps now you find yourself questioning God like Moses did. You’re doubting your relevance to God, and you’re doubting His relevance in your life. You know exactly who He is, but His absence, His lack of intervention during this struggle, is making you question everything.
You’re thinking, He used to help me. Why is He ignoring me now? We can all name a time when God intervened in our lives and blew our minds with His power. So why isn’t He stepping in now? You’re suspicious of God’s actions or lack thereof, even though you know He knows what’s best.
You’re being pushed and pulled this way and that way, and the circumstance has been so bad for so long that you wonder if you’ve lost your relevance. Even good news falls on deaf ears. You’re questioning if anything will help you or bring your life meaning again.
Gripping circumstances will do that to us, won’t they? They’ll make us believe so little, we find ourselves allowing our problems to define or confine God when we all know He is transcendent to our circumstances.
And what I have to say to you is this:
I am that I am!
Whether you’re suffering or soaring, God has eternal relevance. He will be present and take action in your life when He needs to. Understand this: nothing that happens from cradle to grave goes without passing through God’s providence. Every encounter, every battle, every step you take—whether painful or promising—He’s using this to make you His disciple. Maybe you think He’s taking too long. You can complain all you want, but God will still take you where you need to go, when you need to go. He is above human cognition; just when you think you have Him figured out, He will prove to you that you don’t even have an inkling of an idea as to what He has going on.
God exists above your circumstances. Don’t give your unfortunate circumstances the power to influence your faith. Let your faith shape your circumstances.
