| Not “I Was” by Florence Simmons “God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM”’ (Exodus 3:14, NIV). Under God’s authority, Moses received commanding instructions for the Israelites living in Egypt. God’s people had been crying out for deliverance from there seemingly hell-on-earth oppression. Moses’ message didn’t tell them “I WAS WHO I WAS” had sent him. What good would that have done? God is not the “I WAS;” that is in the past tense, as if He could previously help them but wasn’t available for them now. God didn’t tell Moses to tell them “I WILL BE,” a future tense, as if He could help them in the future but not in the present. They needed Him now. Future hope is great, but their pain was immediate and their deliverance a priority. No! “I AM WHO I AM” means always present. From the beginning, He created the world. He has been involved with mankind in all ages and time zones. There is no time—past, present, or future—that has been without God. “This is my name forever,” God told Moses, “the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15). Only God is your “I AM” and not your “I WAS’ or “I WILL BE.” He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Today’s writer is an author and a pastor’s wife who has been in ministry for over forty years. She also is a mother of three married daughters. Contact
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