Maybe one of the most powerful names of God is “Yahweh”! The great I AM. Meaning, God is who he says He is: all powerful, all knowing, purposeful, and faithful. God will do what He says He will do!

How many people living in the world  today truly do what they say they will do? If you are anything like me, there are many times that I am not even able to do what I say I will do. Even when I have the best of intentions, life gets in the way! I mean to deliver that dinner I promised to a friend, but… I mean to go to that Bible study with my friend, but… I mean to be committed to the promises that I made, but…I am weak and limited because, 1) I don’t always remember well. 2) I don’t maintain the same enthusiasm to fulfill a promise at the time I made it. And finally, 3) life’s circumstances sometimes prevent me from keeping that promise.

Being faithful to who we say that we are and to do what we say we’ll do is difficult!  There may be even a perfectly good reason why we are not able to be faithful to what we said we would do. The “buts“ of this life seem to take over all too often. I intended to fufill that promise, but this “this” came up! And then, this other thing happened! And then I got sick.  We may try as hard as we can, but the “buts” of life’s circumstances seem to “but in!”

In contrast, Yahweh–Almighty God–never ever is not who He says he is! When He promises to be faithful, He is! When he promises to comfort us, He does! When He tells us to “fear not” because He is the great I AM, He delivers!

We are not alone in our “but“ circumstances! We actually find ourselves in good company with someone who struggled just like we do! In the book of Judges, we find a man named Gideon. Gideon knew God, just like we do. He believed in God, just like we do. But he allowed his circumstances to allow the “buts” to dictate his life!

When we see Gideon in Judges 6, he’s hiding. Have you ever done that? I know I have. I have retreated into my quiet place when life‘s circumstances have just been too difficult! I have not stopped believing in God. I have not stopped trusting God. But I have momentarily forgotten who God says He is and who God says I am.

God sends his angel to Gideon right where Gideon is. Not after Gideon has straightened up his life. Not after Gideon has remembered who God is and who God says Gideon is. God sends his angel to Gideon in the middle of his hiding, his fear, his doubt. And he tells him something that I believe he wants to tell us today:

“Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!”

Judges 6:12

God reminds Gideon that He hasn’t abandoned Gideon, nor God’s people. He is getting ready to do something amazing, through the life of His servant Gideon. But first God has to remind Gideon of who God is, and who God will help Gideon become. Gideon,  remember that I am with you. And remember that you are a valiant warrior!  With that introduction, God would show Himself faithful to Gideon, and use Gideon to bring about the deliverance of God’s people. 

Within the truth of the name of God, Yahweh, the great I AM, lies the truth that God is who He says He is and if we believe that then we are who God says we are!