Who Do I Say I Am?

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin
Exodus 34:6-7a (ESV)

A lot has been said about God

People say a lot of things about God. Throughout history, there have been thousands of books, articles, sermons, blog posts, movies, and songs written about who He is. Practically everyone has an opinion about the existence and character of God.

The important question is: What does God say about Himself?

I had never thought about this until right before school started this year. I work part-time at a local Catholic school. At the start of each school year, the parish priest and the principal host a spiritual retreat for the faculty of the school.

Meditation on Exodus 34:6-7

At the 2016 retreat we discussed Exodus 34:6-7 because this is the Year of Mercy in the Catholic Church worldwide. During the meditation time, I created this Bible art journaling entry:

God describes Himself

What stood out to me is that this is actually God Himself speaking to Moses. He describes Himself in a few different ways:

Who do I say I am?

-Merciful and gracious
-slow to anger
-abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness
-keeping steadfast love for thousands (some translations say “to the thousandth generation”)
-forgiving iniquity and trangression and sin

He holds all my hopes

This is the God in Whom I have chosen to place all my trust. This is the One I have chosen to hold all my hopes.

He is loving, merciful, faithful, and forgiving. Worthy of all faith. Trustworthy with our hopes and dreams. Loving in the midst of our problems and worries.

Hope will be my anthem this year not because it just makes me feel better, but because I know the One who holds my hopes and dreams in His hands.

We have to consider not just what we have always thought about God, but about what God says of Himself.

Who do I say I am? –God

Action Point:

Is there a way you have been thinking about God that is inconsistent with what He says about Himself? Exchange it right now with thoughts of His mercy and goodness and love. Write down the aspect of God’s character that is most difficult for you to believe and put it in your wallet or purse or somewhere you will see it often. When you see it, take a moment to thank Him just for being who He is.

Prayer:

Father God, You have told us who You are. Thank you that Your character is one of mercy and love and faithfulness, bearing with us when we don’t deserve another chance. Help us to place all our hope in You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.