i am
“God said to Moses,
— Exodus 3:14a, BSB
‘I AM WHO I AM.’
Three simple lines:
i am not
but I know I AM
so I am
The capitalization matters.
Perhaps much of a properly ordered life can be found somewhere within those nine words.
SONG
i am not reminds me of my limitations.
I AM reminds me of God’s infinitude, sovereignty, self-existence, and supremacy.
so I am reminds me that knowing Him does not make my life smaller. It gives my life its proper identity, meaning, confidence, freedom, responsibility, and purpose.
I am not God.
But I know I AM.
And because I know Him, I can increasingly understand who I am, Whose I am, and what I am here to do.
i am not
Our culture frequently tells us:
Believe in yourself. You can become anything. Nothing is impossible. You can do anything you set your mind to.
There is some truth buried beneath the exaggeration. Human beings possess astonishing potential.
God made us that way.
We bear His image.
We can reason, imagine, choose, communicate, love, build, organize, discover, invent, cultivate, lead, sacrifice, create, and transform enormous portions of the world around us.
But remarkable potential is not unlimited potential.
We are creatures.
God is Creator.
We are dependent.
God is self-existent.
We possess meaningful agency.
God possesses ultimate sovereignty.
Our knowledge is partial.
His knowledge is complete.
Our strength eventually ends.
His does not.
So one of the healthiest things I can confess is simply:
i am not.
I am not God.
I am not sovereign.
I am not omniscient.
I am not omnipotent.
I am not self-sufficient.
I am not the center of reality.
And strangely enough, admitting that doesn’t diminish me.
It liberates me.
I no longer have to pretend to be something I was never designed to be.
but I know I AM
This changes everything.
God revealed Himself to Moses as:
“I AM WHO I AM.”
God simply IS.
Before my beginning, He is.
Beyond my limitations, He is.
When I understand, He is.
When I don’t understand, He is.
When I succeed, He is.
When I fail, He is.
When the road appears impossible, He is.
This is where Christian confidence differs radically from inflated self-confidence.
My confidence does not ultimately come from believing:
“I can do anything.”
It comes from knowing:
“God can do anything He purposes.”
Jesus said:
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
— Matthew 19:26, BSB
Our natural limitations are real.
But they are not ultimate.
God can work beyond them according to His will, purposes, principles, promises, and precepts.
That does not mean God exists to accomplish my preferences.
Faith isn’t manipulating God’s power until He gives me what I want.
Faith says:
“Lord, this is what I desire. But You are God. Teach me what You desire. Align my preferences with Yours. And then give me the courage to trust and obey.”
That is Godfidence.
Not unlimited confidence in myself.
Ultimate confidence in God.
so I am
This may be the most surprising line.
After acknowledging that i am not, and recognizing the great I AM, Christianity doesn’t conclude:
Therefore, I am nothing.
Quite the opposite.
God made humanity in His image.
Then He entrusted His creation to human stewardship:
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over…”
— Genesis 1:28, BSB
Adam was placed in the garden to cultivate it.
He named the animals.
Noah built the ark.
Abraham went.
Moses confronted Pharaoh.
David led.
Solomon built.
The prophets spoke.
Mary answered.
The apostles went.
Paul planted.
Apollos watered.
And God gave the growth.
Scripture even uses the astonishing expression:
“For we are God’s fellow workers.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:9, BSB
God doesn’t need our help.
Yet He invites our participation.
What an honor.
God creates.
We cultivate.
God supplies.
We steward.
God gives abilities.
We develop them.
God opens opportunities.
We decide how to respond.
God empowers.
We participate.
God gives the growth.
We enjoy the fruit and return the glory to Him.
In that carefully qualified sense, we become co-creators beneath the Creator—developing, arranging, cultivating, building, and multiplying what God has already created and entrusted to us.
The canvas is His.
The materials are His.
The abilities ultimately came from Him.
But astonishingly, He places the brush in our hands.
Macro Sovereign • Micro Free
This is one of life’s great mysteries.
God is sovereign.
And our choices genuinely matter.
Not 50% God and 50% us.
God remains completely God.
Yet human agency remains meaningful, consequential, and accountable.
Paul places both truths almost side by side:
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”
— Philippians 2:12–13, BSB
God works in us.
Therefore:
We work.
God’s sovereignty doesn’t eliminate human responsibility.
It gives our responsibility its proper context.
We choose.
We pray.
We plan.
We work.
We adjust.
We persevere.
We repent.
We obey.
We create.
We love.
We serve.
We steward.
And then we trust God with what only God can do.
Macro Sovereign. Micro Free.
Our agency is real.
But it operates inside His reality.
Principles & Preferences
This also changes prayer.
God has revealed principles that are not ours to rewrite.
Truth is not determined by my preferences.
But within God’s principles, He has given His image-bearers remarkable freedom.
I can have preferences.
I can dream.
I can ask.
I can plan.
I can create.
I can pursue opportunities.
I can ask God boldly for things I desire.
Jesus Himself prayed:
“Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
— Matthew 26:39, BSB
That may be the ultimate Principles & Preferences prayer.
“Father, here is what I desire…”
And simultaneously:
“…Your will above mine.”
Spiritual maturity isn’t merely learning to surrender my preferences grudgingly.
It is allowing the Holy Spirit to gradually transform my preferences until I increasingly prefer what God prefers.
The closer I walk with Him, the more His loves should become my loves.
His priorities, my priorities.
His principles, my boundaries.
His purposes, my pursuits.
Less of the Old Me • More Christlikeness
Christianity isn’t merely self-improvement.
Nor is it self-erasure.
It is Spirit-empowered transformation toward Christlikeness.
Paul writes:
“Until Christ is formed in you.”
— Galatians 4:19, BSB
Less of my fallen flesh.
More of the new man.
Less self-centeredness.
More Christ-centeredness.
Less pride.
More humility.
Less independence from God.
More dependence upon God.
Less conformity to the world.
More conformity to Christ.
Yet there is an essential distinction:
I am becoming like Jesus in character. I am never becoming Jesus in deity.
Jesus remains Lord.
He remains Creator.
He remains God.
He remains the One before Whom I bow.
The Fall tempted humanity toward godlikeness apart from submission to God.
The Gospel transforms humanity toward Christlikeness through surrender to God.
That distinction changes everything.
Servant • Friend • Steward • Ambassador • Fellow Worker
And then Jesus says something astonishing:
“I have called you friends.”
— John 15:15, BSB
Friends.
Not equals.
Not autonomous partners.
But beloved people invited into relationship with the sovereign God.
We are also called:
Servants — we obey Him.
Stewards — we manage what belongs to Him.
Ambassadors — we represent Him.
Fellow workers — we participate in His work.
Friends — we know and love Him.
This is why obedience shouldn’t ultimately feel like merely following the regulations of a distant ruler.
Jesus said:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
— John 14:15, BSB
Love increasingly produces willing obedience.
Abide → Trust → Love → Obey → Participate → Bear Fruit → Give Glory
My Little Portion
I don’t have to understand God’s entire plan.
I can’t.
I don’t have to accomplish God’s ultimate purposes.
He will.
My responsibility is smaller—and wonderfully significant:
What portion has God entrusted to me?
What people?
What abilities?
What opportunities?
What resources?
What responsibilities?
What relationships?
What problems can I help solve?
What truth can I share?
What can I build?
Whom can I encourage?
Whom can I guide?
What part of God’s garden has been placed within my reach?
A faithful life doesn’t require me to become everyone’s superhero.
Jesus already occupies that position.
My calling is to become a trustworthy guide—helping other image-bearers discover, develop, and faithfully steward the remarkable capacities God has entrusted to them while continually pointing beyond myself toward Christ.
I don’t need to write the entire Story.
I simply want to faithfully participate in the portion where God has written me in.
My Utmost for His Highest
God doesn’t need my utmost to accomplish His Highest.
He deserves my utmost because He IS the Highest.
That’s different.
My work doesn’t complete God.
My obedience doesn’t make Him sovereign.
My faith doesn’t manufacture His power.
My participation doesn’t make His purposes possible.
Instead, His grace allows me the extraordinary privilege of participating in something infinitely greater than myself.
So I want to bring Him my utmost.
Not to prove my worth.
Not to become my own god.
Not to earn His love.
But because He loved me first.
Because Christ gave Himself for me.
Because His Spirit lives within me.
Because Jesus calls me friend.
Because He has entrusted me with a portion of His garden.
Because He has invited me into His Story.
What an honor.
Head • Heart • Hands
HEAD — Know Who God Is
He is I AM.
God alone is ultimate.
His sovereignty, truth, character, purposes, and power establish reality—not mine.
HEART — Know Whose I Am
My identity rests in relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
I don’t need to become God.
I need to increasingly know, love, trust, and become like Christ.
HANDS — Steward Who I Am
I will use the agency, abilities, resources, opportunities, relationships, and portion God has entrusted to me.
I will ponder.
Pray.
Plan.
Work.
Create.
Adjust.
Trust.
Obey.
Serve.
Love.
And leave the ultimate outcome with Him.
Pondering Life
Human potential is remarkable—but not unlimited.
Human agency is meaningful—but not sovereign.
Human preferences matter—but are not supreme.
Human limitations are real—but not ultimate.
God alone is ultimate.
So I will pursue His truth.
Hold tightly to His principles.
Bring Him my preferences with open hands.
Exercise the agency He entrusted to me.
Develop the abilities He gave me.
Work diligently within my natural capacity.
Pray boldly beyond my limitations.
Participate willingly with His Spirit.
Seek Christlikeness rather than self-exaltation.
Steward my little portion.
And trust His providence with the outcome.
Because ultimately:
i am not
I am not God.
but I know I AM
I know the One Who is.
so I am
And because I know Whose I am, I can increasingly understand who I am and faithfully become who He created me to be.
Prayer
Lord, You are the great I AM, and I am not. Thank You that admitting my limitations does not diminish me but places me in right relationship with You. Thank You for creating me in Your image, redeeming me through Jesus Christ, giving me Your Spirit, entrusting me with meaningful agency, and inviting me into Your work.
Keep my pride in check as my abilities grow. Teach me to hold tightly to Your principles and loosely to my preferences. Transform my desires until I increasingly love what You love and desire what pleases You.
Make me less controlled by my fallen flesh and increasingly transformed into the likeness of Christ. Help me discover the portion You have entrusted to me and give You my utmost—not because You need me to accomplish Your Highest, but because You are the Highest and worthy of my very best.
Help me abide, trust, love, obey, participate, bear fruit, and return the glory to You.
I am not. But I know I AM. So I am.
Amen.
Dawn 2 Dusk
I don’t have to be the Hero. I know the Hero.
I don’t have to be unlimited. I know the One Who is.
I don’t have to accomplish everything. I only need to faithfully steward my portion.
i am not but I know I AM so I am
SONG
Lyrics by Kirk Booher
I am
A Pondering Life Song
(Verse 1)
I did not speak the stars awake,
Or tell the seas where they should break.
I didn’t breathe this breath in me,
Or hang the sun where it should be.
Yet You formed dust with Your own hands,
Breathed life and gave us Your commands.
Your image carried in this clay,
A little portion for me today.
You gave me freedom, mind, and will,
A garden here to tend and till.
Not mine to own, but mine to steward,
A life entrusted by my Lord.
(Pre-Chorus)
My potential may be remarkable,
But my limitations are real.
I don’t have to be unlimited
When I’m with the One Who is.
(Chorus)
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am.
I am not the Maker,
But I know the Great I AM.
I am not the Savior,
But I’m held by nail-scarred hands.
I am not the Way,
But I know the Way to follow.
I can’t control me…yet alone eternity—
But I know Who holds every tomorrow.
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am.
(Verse 2)
The serpent still whispers old lies:
“You need no God—just realize
The power buried deep inside;
Exalt yourself, only you decide.”
But I’ve seen where that pathway goes,
From Eden’s tree to kingdoms’ thrones.
When gifts forget from Whom they came,
The creation tries to thwart His Name.
So keep me humble when I rise,
Keep Jesus the light of my eyes.
Whatever strength or skill You’ve given,
Let every win point up to Heaven.
(Pre-Chorus)
Human agency is meaningfully free,
But my will is NOT ultimately supreme.
In Your image I was crafted wonderfully,
So may my choice be always be Thee.
(Chorus)
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am.
I am not the Maker,
But I know the Great I AM.
I am not the Savior,
But I’m held by loving hands.
I am not the source of Light,
But Your Light shines through me.
I am not the lively Vine,
But a twig abiding upon the Tree.
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am.
(Verse 3)
You call me servant, steward, friend,
An ambassador until the end.
A fellow worker in Your field,
My little portion gladly yielded.
You made the garden—I will tend it.
You give me seeds—I will plant them.
You give me gifts—I will enjoy them.
You give the truth—I will employ it.
I plant the seed, another waters,
But only You can make them grow.
Like Oslwald did, I’ll give my utmost for Your Highest
And trust the outcomes You’ve yet to show.
(Bridge)
Less of my old man,
More of the new.
Less of my fallen flesh,
More likeness to You.
Spirit, transform me again,
Renew my mind.
Make my desires transcend,
To be more Divine!
Your principles—I hold them tightly.
My preferences—with open hands.
Your sovereignty guiding above me,
My freedom aligning with Your plans.
God supplies—I steward.
God empowers—I participate
God leads—I follow.
God calls—I answer by faith.
Not fifty-fifty—
You don’t need my strength.
You invite me into Your story
Your infinity timezs my 100
(Breakdown)
I all reality, I am far from everything
the world tells me I should be.
I cannot do anything
just because I want to achieve.
My potential is great, plenty of zeal
I got grit but my limitations are real…
Thank God, they are not ultimate.
Because when my ability ends,
My God is just getting started,
When I get out of my comfort zone,
Jehovah is my answer alone.
When the solution looks impossible,
My God is just waiting for my faith and His time
And when puffed up pride asks me
who I think I am…
I remember—
(Chorus — Quiet)
i am not…
Humility.
but I know I AM…
Relationship.
so I am.
Identity.
(Final Chorus — Full)
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am!
Because I know Whose I am,
I am no stranger to who I am.
Created in Your marvelous image,
Redeemed and loved by the Great I AM.
Jesus, You’re my Model,
My Goal, my Sword, my Reward.
Spirit, keep transforming me
To look more like my Lord.
From dawn until the dusk,
Let me faithfully fulfill
The little portion You’ve entrusted—
Trusting Your sovereign will.
I don’t have to pretend to be the Hero.
Because I’m with the One Who is.
I don’t have try to be a perfect man,
Cause I’m a child of the perfect I AM.
(Outro)
Not my kingdom.
Not my glory.
Yet You’ve invited me
Into Your story.
Not my power.
Not my throne.
But by Your grace,
I’m not alone.
So here I stand—
Humble, grateful, free…
i am not…
but I know I AM…
so I am.
And that’s enough
….for me.