The Great I AM

READY

“God replied to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.'" --Exodus 3:14

SET

The international sporting tournament that is the Invictus Games uses the power of adaptive sport to promote recovery in the lives of ex-military men and women who are coping with physical and mental injuries as a result of their service to their respective countries.

There is an opportunity for transformation. The transformation may be through the development of new physical abilities. Or, it may come through the joy of discovering that, while life will never be the same as it once was, it is still worth living to the fullest. Part of that transformation undoubtedly will come spiritually, with a renewed sense of peace and hope. That is the ethos of the Invictus Games; that you will remain unconquered by your circumstances. The pioneers of the Invictus Games chose this name from a poem called ‘Invictus’ written in 1875 by the British poet William Ernest Henley. Two of the four verses read:

In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody but unbowed.

It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

From the words in those last two lines, the words "I am" have become a huge part of the Games.

The words "I am" are an important part of the Bible. At the burning bush, God commissioned Moses to rescue His people. Moses, like any good service person, wanted to know on whose authority he was being sent. In Exodus 3:14 God replies to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM."

Centuries later, God’s Son, Jesus, made several "I am" statements Himself, including this one from John 14:6, “...I am the way, the truth, and the life...”

When we focus on who God is and what He gives to us, it can empower us to perform for a greater cause than ourselves.

GO

• What does it mean to you to be a conqueror in sport? And in life?
• Why do you think Jesus made as many so powerful "I am" statements as He did? What do you make of each of them?

WORKOUT

John 8:58; John 6:35; John 6:51; John 8:12; John 8:23; John 10:26; John 11:25; Revelation 22:13

OVERTIME

“Almighty and all-loving God, I come to You now in prayer feeling both strong and weak at the same time and in different ways. And so I pray, please continue to give me strength and resilience such that no matter what life might throw at me, I can rise above the adversity, challenge, and pain, remaining unconquered by them. You are the true Captain of my soul. Let it be so, Lord. Amen."