"Rachael, Rachael."

Here I am. What are you asking of me? Turn my ears toward Your voice and make me follow. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God who has always been and who will always be. The God who knows my pain. The God in whom we can place our trust. We need not fear. He will guide. He will lead. He will never leave.

Gen. 46:2-3:

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

Gen. 22:1-2:

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

And when God appears to Moses in a burning bush in Exodus 3:

When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"

And Moses said, "Here I am."

"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

God is a personal, relational God. He identifies Himself with the people who He related to on a personal level. As He was the God of those who have gone before, He is now. As He was faithful to them He will be faithful to Moses. As He was faithful to Moses He will be faithful to us. God desires to meet Moses and He makes Himself known. He initiated the relationship as He always does. Access to God is possible. Just as Moses does not burn up in God's presence, neither do we have to burn. This experience points to a future possibility that you can be in the presence of God and not be completely consumed. That access is now given to us. We serve that High Priest who mediates between God and man. The curtain is torn. We can reach God! Jesus has bridged the gap!

Hebrews 9:24:

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

And what kind of High Priest do we have, and what confidence can we take from this?

Hebrews 4:14-16:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

He understands our weakness! We can approach him and expect to receive mercy and grace!

God has been faithful since the beginning of time. He is as He was as He evermore wil be. Matthew 22:32 states:

'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

Yes, indeed, God is the God of the living. Do we live as though we believe that?


(Note: This post contains some of the same ideas and most likely some/many of the exact words used by my Sunday School teacher [Jae Kim] and possibly other church people.)