I Am

This last week has been challenging, yet it has also been good and a blessing. I have been filled with doubt and uncertainty as I struggle to find work. Waiting on hearing back from employers is not the most fun thing to do, and usually I want results pronto. It was definitely an area that I was trusting God with. In my personal devotion time with the Lord, I have been reading through Genesis as I try to work my way through the Bible in a year. Recently, I have been going through the motions and not really getting much out of it, so with a little encouragement from someone far wiser than myself, I read the first chapter of Ephesians to mix it up, and try an exercise. From this passage, we get a list of things that Good has done for us, and also a list of who we are because of those great acts performed by God. So I made a list of "I Am" statements out of Ephesians 1. My list is as follows:
1. I am predestined
2. I am forgiven
3. I am redeemed
4. I am saved
5. I am sealed with a promise
6. I am blessed
I am all these things because of what God did before the world was ever created! And if He predestined us how does he not know what we need? Why did He do all these great things for us? Because as Paul writes in verses 10 and 11 that it was all according to His will and purpose. That purpose was "... to unite all things to him, things in heaven, and things on earth."(verse10). What a great encouragement! After reading this chapter, my confidence, not in myself, but in the Lord rose, and I was greatly encouraged by this reminder of the gospel. It totally changed my view on my situation and trust in the Lord. The Lord has a plan for us all, we just need to entrust ourselves to Him, in faith believing that we each have a purpose and role in this world, and live as children of the Lord who is the Great I AM.