Nougat 7

There is a very interesting ‘non-IAM’ I AM statement made by God that bears deeper reflection. For, although it doesn’t use YHWH in the Hebrew, it invites the worshipper to make time for contemplating who God is to us. Join me, as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Psalms 46:10 NIV

[10] He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

IAM God

Siblings, have you ever truly stopped to think about God’s God-ness? What is it that makes God God; perhaps more critically, what does God desire us to understand about God before worshipping?

This psalm, written by the sons of Korah*, was a worship hymn, yet one that offers comfort in troubling times. It begins with the assurance that God is our …

• Refuge
• Strength
• Ever-Present Help

(and there is that term Ezer again. Rest assured, my siblings, whoever it is that needs this reminder, God’s got you covered). This is followed by the command to abandon fear, no matter how extreme our situation gets. After extolling God’s omnipotence, the psalmists present God’s personal word to the congregation … Be still and know that I AM Elohim.

Self-Check

How well do we know Elohim? Is God (Elohim), supreme in our lives, as the name intends?

Application

Strong’s Concordance _online includes the NAS Exhaustive Concordance, which transliterates Elohim as divine being, judges, rulers, among other terms. Further, Brown- Driver-Briggs commentary posits that Elohim is a plural term referring to ‘rulers and judges, either as divine representatives at sacred places or as reflecting divine majesty and power’.

From these definitions that follow descriptions of God’s omnipotence, a declaration of God’s omnipresence, and the instruction to be still there is naught for the hearer to do except exactly that.

This stillness is not a passive one. It calls for intentional contemplation. As articulated in the original, we get to the realisation that God is to/God will be exalted as supreme in every situation. For IAM God – the Supreme, Divine Judge and Ruler – is our God, our ever-present, always at hand, Ezer. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:31, ‘If God be FOR us, who can be AGAINST us?’. When we know beyond ALL DOUBT that we are God’s children, and we truly believe that God is ALL that God is presented as to us, then our worries will cease.

If we’re in the middle of worrying about our capabilities, our suitability or our capacity for what is before us, I pray that we stop to consider that Elohim our God is with us, is judge for all the nations, and the earth, is the Supreme God above all else. Then instead of worrying, we can turn our hearts towards praise.

Point to Ponder/Praise Break

Do we often declare to our problems exactly Who our IAM God is? Start now!

Remember that Korah was a Levite, of Aaronic descent, who challenged Moses’ authority in the wilderness and perished for his mutiny. Not all his sons joined him, as we find that there area few psalms that are credited to his sons/ heirs.

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May all we seek be found in Christ