How often do you think to yourself, “I feel inadequate?” When you realize that God has declared his great I AM name to you in the midst of your insecurities, it should make you read the third commandment in a different light.
The third commandment is, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7 ESV). I was always taught this meant, “Don’t use God’s name as a cuss word: Do not say, ‘Oh my God,’ or, ‘Jesus Christ,’” or something like that. And that is certainly true.
But this is not just a command on how to use God’s name. Look at the specific language: This is a command about how to take God’s name. Think of it like this: In time past, there was a beautiful girl named Veronica Marie McPeters, and on the greatest day of her life, she dropped the McPeters and became a Greear. When she took my name, she became part of me, one with me. All that was mine became hers (it wasn’t that much).
In the same way, when you became a Christian, you took the name of God to yourself, the name, I AM. That means that what he is, you now have.
The Apostle Peter declares that we became actual participants in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4); the Apostle Paul proclaims us as inheritors of all the divine promises (Galatians 3:29). All the promises of God to us, he says, are “yes” in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).
What We’re Doing When We Say, ‘I Feel Inadequate’
And that means that when we think, “I am not _____ enough,” we are taking God’s name in vain, because even though we are not, he is, and we have become one with him. What he is, he now is for us and through us.
You say, “God, I can’t be a good parent.” He says, “I can.”
You say, “I can’t make it.” He says, “I can.”
You say, “I am full of doubt.” He says, “But I am faithful.”
You say, “God, I am so dysfunctional.” He says, “But I am so complete.”
You say, “I am deficient.” He says, “Yet I am sufficient.”
You say, “I am so sinful.” He says, “And I am so gracious.”
You say, “I am at the end of my rope!” He says, “I’ve got another one, and it’s as long as eternity.”
