Day 7: God Is Self-Existent, “I AM”

Scripture
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.”’” Exodus 3:14 ESV

“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” John 5:26 ESV

Confessional Summary
God is all sufficient and not in need of any creature, and He has all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness in and of Himself (Westminster Confession of Faith 2.2). The Belgic Confession calls Him the overflowing fountain of all good (Belgic Confession, Article 1). Both are saying the same thing. God does not receive life. He gives it. God does not borrow strength. He is strength.

The Reformers leaned hard on this truth because it protects the gospel. God is never dependent on us, never improved by us, and never placed in our debt. Salvation is grace from beginning to end because the I AM gives life, not because He needs anything from His creatures.

Reflection
Everything we know depends on something else, and most of our fear comes from that. What we rely on can change. Health can turn. People can fail. Plans can unravel. Even our own resolve can evaporate by nightfall. We live on borrowed breath.

Then God speaks His name. “I AM WHO I AM.” This is not a clever phrase and it is not a sentimental comfort. It is a revelation of reality. God does not depend. He does not become. He simply is. He has life in Himself, and He is the source of every life that exists.

That means God cannot be managed. A needy god can be negotiated with. A weak god can be manipulated. But the living God is free. He is never cornered by circumstances, never depleted by demands, and never surprised by tomorrow.

This is why His name is comfort. If God were dependent like us, His promises would be as fragile as our lives. But His promises rest on His own being. When your life shakes, the One who holds you does not.

Application
Listen to your prayers today. If you hear yourself trying to bargain, pause and confess it. Ask with humility. Trust with quiet confidence. Submit without resentment. Then name one place where you have been acting as if everything depends on you, and deliberately place it back into the hands of the I AM.

Prayer
I AM, You have life in Yourself and You never grow weak. Free me from bargaining and control. Teach me to depend on You and rest in Your steady faithfulness. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.