The Great I AM

May 22, 2016

Today in Praise and Worship we were singing the song “Great I Am.”
It got me thinking. We (believers) sing so many praise and worship songs. We sing lovely lyrics and we get sometimes get what my pastor refers to as “Chill Bumps.” We feel good about it and that is not a bad thing. I know for myself I love to worship the Lord and I can get lost in His presence during worship.

However, today the Lord sharpened my ears to some very specific verses. There is a verse in the song that goes like this:
The mountains shake before You…The demons run and flee…At the mention of the name King of majesty…There is no power in hell…Or any who can stand…Before the power and the presence of the great I Am…The great I am, the great I Am

As I sang those lyrics today I began to wonder, do we really believe the lyrics we sing. I mean if mountains shake before Him; do I? Do I revere the Lord as LORD! Do I understand the power and glory that is Him? If I do then how does it affect the way I approach worship? How does it affect the way I live my life?

The next line about demons running and fleeing is one that gets a lot of shouts and hallelujahs. Because our enemy is defeated, Christ is victorious; but am I? Do I live as if the enemy has been defeated? Often I think when times get hard, we (believers) live as if we were the ones who were defeated. We may get knocked down; but we have the power in Christ to get back up. If we want to live a life of victory then do we really believe what Romans 8:28 says: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” If this is the case then how do we look at the hardships and trials in our lives? I always try to look at situations and ask the Lord how He wants to grow me through this trial/what does He want to reveal to me about myself. Its not easy and there are times when I can’t shake off the robe of defeat the enemy tries to put on me, but nevertheless, I press forward in Him until I begin to see with new eyes. My circumstances might not change, but my viewpoint can.

The last few lines of this verse really got me.  There is no power in hell; Or any who can stand; Before the power and the presence of the great I Am. If I believe there is nothing bigger than my LORD and that nothing can stand against His power and presence, then how do my actions show that to be true? When you tap into the power of God strongholds can’t stand. Trials do not have to end in defeat. The enemy cannot have our families. Yet when I look around at the lives of myself and fellow believers there is evidence of people living bound. This stirred something in me. Do we not understand that through the power of Christ we can speak to that thing and get it out of our family. We can cancel the plans the enemy has for our children. We can overthrow the sin that is trying to reign. But we must believe. We must believe the lyrics that we are singing. That nothing can stand before the power and the presence of the great I Am.