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[0:00] A Pastor's Reflections I Am Genesis 46.3 And he said, I am God, the God of thy Father. Fear not.

[0:12] Exodus 3.14 And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am, has sent me unto you.

[0:26] John 18.4-5 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek you?

[0:37] They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. It's easy to think that the God we serve and the life we live are so intimately connected that neither one existed before we came into being.

[0:54] We link God so closely with our own lives that we lose sight of who he was before we were. God has existed from eternity past to eternity future.

[1:07] And while we know that truth, we often don't live like we believe it. One who follows an eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful God should never have an anxious thought or troubled mind.

[1:20] They should never be in doubt about their future or worried over unknown events. Why? Because the eternal God knows and has already taken into account every possible scenario and outcome.

[1:34] In Genesis 46, Jacob is terribly concerned about his trip into Egypt. While he is elated over the fact that he will soon see his long-lost son, he is deeply troubled about leaving the promised land to go into Egypt.

[1:51] In the past, when his grandfather or father took such a trip, it represented a lack of trust in God. Jacob is deeply troubled because he does not know how things will turn out for him now.

[2:04] He does not know if God will be with him now. You see, for Jacob, it was easy to think that everything about himself and everything about God is all tied up in this moment, in this present decision.

[2:20] Malachi 3.6 For I am the Lord, I change not. John 8.58 Jesus said unto them, Truly, truly, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.

[2:35] The reality is that God is not tied to this moment in Jacob's life, nor is he, in fact, tied to Jacob's life at all. It is Jacob that is, in fact, tied to God's life.

[2:48] When we begin to realize that God is not affected by our decisions, nor is he troubled over our future, we begin to understand the great freedom we have to live before God without fear.

[3:01] Jacob looks at the decisions of his forefathers and sees the difficulties that came from leaving the promised land and going into Egypt, the world. But what he is missing is the overarching plan and faithfulness of God.

[3:15] Yes, Abraham and Isaac both turned to the world for help instead of God. But that decision in no way affected God's love for them or his faithfulness to them.

[3:27] God is not affected by the choices of man, neither is he limited to their lives. I am God, the God of thy father. Before God was the God of Jacob, he was the God of Jacob's father.

[3:41] And before God was the God of Jacob's father, he was still the I am. Father, what blessed assurance to know that our troubled lives are so intimately linked to your eternal life.

[3:54] Help us to place all of our troubles into your eternal hands. Remind us today that the things that trouble us are no trouble to you. Help us to walk in the freedom of an eternal God that has existed and will exist long after the troubles of this present world are no more.

[4:15]  Amen.