Who Am I? Trusting God’s Presence Through Difficulty

Exodus 3 opens with Moses tending sheep in the wilderness when God stops him with a bush burning but not consumed. The fire, the mountain, and the command to remove his sandals show that God is holy, but the center of the moment is the conversation between Moses and God. Moses asks, “Who am I?” because God is sending him back to Egypt, back to Pharaoh, and back toward the very place he had fled.

Moses’ question sounds familiar whenever a hard calling shows up. The question can sound humble, fearful, or like an excuse: Who am I to lead, forgive, serve, help somebody else, or speak about faith while still carrying unanswered questions? God does not shame Moses for asking. God answers Moses’ doubt with a promise: “I will be with you.” Moses looks at his own ability, but God points Moses to God’s presence.

God then turns Moses’ attention from “Who am I?” to “I am who I am.” Moses’ courage does not come from finding something impressive inside himself. Moses’ courage comes from seeing who God is. God is not a passing feeling that disappears when a hard phone call, a diagnosis, failure, or conflict rocks everything. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who made promises, saw His people’s suffering, heard their cries, and remembered them.

God’s faithfulness does not mean the road will be easy. God tells Moses before he ever goes that Pharaoh will resist. God’s presence and difficulty belong together. Pharaoh’s resistance will not mean that God abandoned Moses, because God already told him the road would be hard. Faith is not pretending everything will work out exactly as desired. Faith is saying, “I may not know what happens next, but I know who God is.”

Jesus carries that same promise into the mission of His disciples: “I am with you always.” Christ does not send His people out alone. The call is to take the faithful step, while leaving the results, other people’s responses, and every outcome in God’s hands. The image of “burn the ships” names the hard work of letting go of the escape routes that keep obedience halfway committed. God’s faithfulness invites a personal answer: “Because God is faithful this week, I will blank.”

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God answers doubt with presence.
  God does not first give Moses a better resume, a clearer strategy, or a stronger feeling. God gives Moses Himself: “I will be with you.” Human limits remain real, but God’s presence makes faithful action possible even when confidence is thin. [31:57]
• 2. God’s name steadies changing circumstances.
  “I am who I am” means God is not controlled by the moment Moses is facing. Feelings rise and fall, circumstances can turn in one phone call, and hard roads can shake self-confidence. God’s character remains steady because His faithfulness rests in who He is. [33:07]
• 3. Hard roads do not cancel God’s call.
  God tells Moses that Pharaoh will resist before Moses ever goes back to Egypt. Resistance, delay, and cost do not automatically prove that a faithful step was mistaken. Obedience often means continuing forward with open hands when the outcome is still out of reach. [36:38]
• 4. Faith takes the next faithful step.
  Control tries to fix every person and guarantee every result. Faith accepts what belongs to human responsibility and releases what belongs only to God. A willing hand, a humble heart, and one faithful step can become the place where God’s presence is trusted. [37:23]
• 5. Christ sends His people accompanied.
  Jesus echoes God’s promise to Moses by saying, “I am with you always.” Christian confidence does not come from having every answer figured out. Christ’s presence gives courage to obey because the One who calls does not leave His people alone. [37:35]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [23:22] - Baptisms and Opening Story
• [24:21] - Moses Meets God at the Burning Bush
• [28:53] - Who Am I and I Am
• [30:44] - God Answers Doubt With Presence
• [32:43] - God Reveals His Name
• [35:08] - Trusting God’s Character
• [35:51] - Obeying Through Difficulty
• [37:23] - Take the Faithful Step
• [37:35] - Jesus Promises His Presence
• [38:42] - Burning the Ships
• [41:17] - Prayer for Faithful Obedience

Bible Reading

Exodus 3:1-22
“Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’ And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” [24:21]

Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [37:35]

Observation questions

1. What details in Exodus 3 show both that God is holy and that He is personally speaking with Moses? [25:07]
2. What does God say He has seen, heard, and known about the Israelites’ situation in Egypt?
3. When Moses asks, “Who am I?” what answer does God give him, and what does that answer focus on? [31:41]
4. What does God tell Moses in advance about Pharaoh’s response, and what does He also promise to do?

Interpretation questions

1. Why might God’s answer to Moses focus on His presence rather than on Moses becoming more qualified, confident, or prepared? [31:47]
2. God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How would that connection to His past promises help Moses trust God in a frightening new assignment? [34:31]
3. What does Pharaoh’s promised resistance reveal about the idea that difficulty always means someone has misunderstood God’s will? [35:29]
4. Jesus gives His followers a mission in Matthew 28 and promises to be with them always. How does Christ’s presence change the way believers can approach a calling that feels bigger than them? [37:35]

Application questions

1. Where are you currently asking, “Who am I?”—perhaps in serving, forgiving, having a hard conversation, helping someone in pain, or speaking about your faith? What makes that step feel difficult? [29:45]
2. When you feel unqualified or unsure what to say, what would it look like to offer a simple, faithful presence—such as listening, praying, sitting with someone, or bringing a meal? [32:11]
3. What changing circumstance has recently shaken your confidence or peace? How can remembering who God is, rather than trying to feel strong, steady you in that situation? [33:44]
4. Is there a hard situation where you have assumed that resistance, delay, or disappointment means God is not with you? How might Exodus 3 help you see that difficulty and God’s presence can exist together? [35:51]
5. Are you trying to control another person’s response, repair every problem, or guarantee an outcome that belongs in God’s hands? What is your faithful responsibility, and what do you need to release to God? [37:03]
6. What “escape route” keeps your obedience halfway committed—a backup plan, fear of change, comfort, approval from others, or something else? What might it mean to “burn the ships” in a wise and faithful way? [40:21]
7. Complete this sentence as specifically as you can: “Because God is faithful this week, I will ________.” What is one next step you can take, and how can the group encourage you in it? [40:49]