February 22, 2021
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)
Every house must have a foundation. Without a solid footing, the house may look good for a while externally but will have a structural failure when bad weather comes. A solid foundation is the key to a building that will last. What is true of a building is also true of a life and a people.
I AM
As God began to build His nation of Israel, He starts with the reminder that He IS. He is what? He is life, breath, meaning, purpose. He is the provider and protector. He is the leader. Add any good and essential thing into that sentence, and you will discover that our lives are to rest upon the only foundation which is sufficient.
After this initial statement, God gives the people (through Moses) a list of ten primary commandments they are to observe. If they humbly follow, it will lead to a healthy, holy unified nation and a prosperous life. But each of these commandments finds its genesis in the first truth: “I am the LORD your God.”
OUR FAILURE
Our great problem stems from our forgetfulness about this fact. We began to twist the statement to our liking. Our standard operating system becomes, “I, myself, am.” We function as if there is no God, no source, and no need for daily, hourly dependency. We vainly think we can operate without Him and see ourselves as the foundation for our existence.
If we think that we are the provider, it is all on us with no help from above. If we are the leader, we are left to our feeble insights as we ignore the All-Seeing-One. And on and on. We are left to our own devices.
Nothing can be more deadly. Look at every problem in your life and the society around you. Each fatal sin and cancerous reasoning comes from walking away from the foundation. From forgetting God.
“I am the LORD your God.” This is the foundation for our lives, families, churches, nation, and world. Without a dependency upon this truth, our world crumbles.
Father, thank You that You are the great I AM, and there is no other. You are everything I need and could possibly want. Help me to look to You—not myself or others—as the source for life. Give me the wisdom to look to You in faith and obedience through each moment of the common day.
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