We want the I AM to instruct us

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The Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of Israel, says, “I am the Lord your God. I teach you for your own good. I lead you in the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17)

I teach you for your own good - if we are honest here, we all need a little more of his 'instruction' than we have embraced! We might be 'hearing' his teachings, but are we allowing those words to have a deep and meaningful effect in our lives? It isn't just some random preacher teaching us - it is the "I AM". The self-sufficient, self-sustaining God - the one who was and who always is - he is the one doing the teaching. Are we listening?

"I AM" is the Lord our God. He sustains us when we don't have the wherewithal to sustain ourselves. He is the one who is not dependent upon anyone else - he has been, will always be, and is right now. All manner of 'distraction' exists for us - things or individuals we might want to elevate to the place of a 'god' in our lives, but they can never boast that they have been, will always be, or are right now what they have always been. Any other source of 'leadership' in our lives will never measure up to his!

When God declares "I AM", he is declaring himself as one who desires to be known - to be in relationship with those he created. No wonder he tells us he is the one who teaches us for 'our own good'. Who would know best what we need in our lives than the one who created that life? Teaching begins with hearing the one who is instructing, but it continues when we are led in the way that teaching leads. The 'way we should go' is sometimes not as clear to us as it should be, but the "I AM" is teaching, so we only need to listen!

"I AM" is the one who is our God. We might not realize his instruction is actually happening in our lives, but he uses every opportunity to reveal something about himself we need to realize. He also uses those same opportunities to reveal something about OURSELVES that we need to realize. Whatever he reveals is worth our attention. We are often set free when we finally see what we have worked so hard to ignore or cover up within ourselves. Who better to reveal those things than the "I AM"? Just askin!

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