“I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6a
Here’s a fact that should bring you relief: God is not overwhelmed by your personal struggles.
In the book She Deserves Better, a woman named Flore shared about growing up in a religious home where she wasn’t free to talk about challenges or the abuse she experienced.[1] Instead, she plastered on a happy face because that was what was expected. She also didn’t want her nonreligious friends to think that God hadn’t solved all the problems in her life!
But deep down, Flore longed to admit she was anxious and depressed. Exhausted from pretending, Flore left religion, and went to the party scene looking for something more authentic. Finding that empty too, she came back to Jesus. It was then that the phrase, “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” began to mean something to her.
God introduces Himself with these words in the Bible book of Exodus: “I am…the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). Now Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all had their individual struggles. They all made mistakes. But God was committed to each of them.
God is also still committed to the hurting person who longs to follow Him. We don’t have to pretend to be perfect people who have our stories all neatly wrapped up. In fact, faking perfection makes it impossible to connect authentically with God and others. Living a lie also means denying problems God wants to address!
The story that God will write about you over a lifetime is about how He meets with and helps you in your battles as you continue to surrender control of your life to Him. He loves you as you are, right now, for He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and of you.
[1] Gregoire, Sheila Wray, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky. She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up. Baker Publishing Group, 2023.
