I Am He – Isaiah 43

God continued to speak through the prophet Isaiah to give us more information about Himself and His position in the universe. The Lord tells us that no other god was formed before Him, and none will come after.  He is unique and all-powerful, unable to be defeated.  No created thing, no matter how strong, can successfully oppose or overthrow Him in a rebellion.

¹⁰ “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior.
¹² I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,”
Says the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³ Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?”  Isaiah 43:10-13 (NKJV)

The quote in verse 13, “Before the day was, I am He”, sounds a little strange to us.  It combines the past tense “was” with the present tense “am”.  Perhaps God is telling us that He lives beyond our whole conception of time.  We are only able to experience and understand things with a distinct beginning, middle, and an end.  But God lives in a dimension with no beginning or ending. In addition, with His call of Moses, the Lord refers to His name as “I am”.

We understand from science that the universe started with a Big Bang, and with that explosion, the clock of time and measurement of space began.  Before that, time did not even exist – it was created. We are designed to live within the confines of that creation.  God is not.  He transcends all time and space, declaring the end from the beginning.

Most people, at one time or another, will look up at the stars and wonder if there is some higher power behind it all, something or someone who created and cares about them.  God declares through the prophet Isaiah that “I am He”.

God tells us through Isaiah that He is the One to lead and guide us, our only Savior. Jesus Christ is the personification of that Savior. Truly God, He died a painful death on the cross to atone for all of our sins, and the Father raised Him from the dead to live in glory. Jesus will return to earth one day to rule and reign over all the world on David’s throne in a New Jerusalem.

Once we have experienced God in our hearts, He asks us to be His witnesses to the world, telling of His loving presence and great power.  His kingdom grows in the hearts of people through the seed of His inspired word and the sharing of our testimony.  Jesus sends us out to tell of His goodness and to demonstrate His comfort and compassion with the hurt and suffering souls around us.  He instructs us to do what we can to work alongside Him to feed the hungry, heal the sick, visit the lonely, cloth the naked, mourn with the mourning, and to help free any who seek release from any type of bondage.  God does the actual work, but in His power, we partner with Him to accomplish His work a little at a time, one day at a time.

Who do we turn to when we are afflicted in any way? Through Isaiah, God tells us, “I am He”.

Reflection.

Are you or someone close to you experiencing affliction? Let us take that to the Lord in prayer.

Thank you, Lord, for the great love You have for each one of us.  Empower us in the Holy Spirit to serve alongside You to meet the needs of those around us today, being an effective witness of You and Your kingdom. Free us and the ones we love from any and all affliction and bondage. You are our loving Creator and sustainer, upon You we place our hope and trust.  We pray this Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a beautiful, blessed day in the Lord today.