God is I AM | 2025 Pre-Conference Devotional

“God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”

— Exodus 3:14a, NRSVue

Our last descriptor for God on our conference shirt is a timeless name of God that many of us may have heard in religious environments before.

When Moses is being called by God to be a leader for the liberation and freedom of the enslaved Hebrew people, Moses asks God who he should say has sent him. God’s answer is often translated in English as “I AM WHO I AM” (some Bible translations capitalize all letters in the five words like we did here).

Four of the previous five descriptors we’ve talked about in this series are connected to the LGBTQ+ community in some way (God is Queer, God is Nonbinary, God is Trans, and God is a Drag Queen). We offered these reflections as not formal theological teaching but as invitations to have a community-wide dialogue.

For this final reflection, we invite you to consider who God has been to you. What does it mean for you to hear God say, “I am who I am” in your life?

Perhaps you’ve experienced pain at the loss of community due to your sexuality or gender identity. Perhaps you experienced injustice when someone in power told you that being LGBTQ+ and Christian were not compatible. Perhaps you, like Moses, are working within a specific community toward the pursuit of justice and liberation. Perhaps this upcoming Q Christian Fellowship Conference is a chance for you to connect for the first time with an LGBTQ+ Christian community in pursuit of justice and liberation.

We all experience unique situations every day of our lives and some days, it might feel as if we have no one to relate to in those moments or experiences. Our other descriptor (God is With Us), offers a reflection to consider that God is present in these unique life experiences alongside us.

When God says “I am who I am,” it is an invitation for us to remember God’s mysterious divinity. It calls us to look at our life and see how God stands outside of the limitations of space, time and human power. The “I Am” existed before the struggles of our world and so therefore has the authority to bring new things forth and to reconcile all things with their full potential. Only that “I Am” can bring about liberation and freedom to all people.

What does it mean for you to hear God say, “I am who I am” in light of your unique experiences?