EL SHADDAY - God Almighty

Dorcas Circle Devotions for April 2006
Series: The Names of God
II --EL SHADDAY
"GOD ALMIGHTY"
Scripture Reading: Genesis 17:1-8, 15-18 Focus: Genesis 17:1-2

*The Hebrew El Shadday (EL shad-DAI) is often translated "God Almighty," and may literally be translated "God, the Mountain One." Like the mountains themselves, God is seen as strong and unchanging. El Shadday reveals God not only as the One Who creates and maintains the universe but Who initiates and maintains a covenant with his people. The patriarchs considered El Shadday the covenent name of God. When we pray to El Shadday, we invoke the name of the One for Whom nothing is impossible.

*We will be reading about Abraham again this month. Scripture confirms for us Abraham's tremendous faith. In Hebrews 11:1, that great chapter on faith, vs. 1 gives us the definition of faith, "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." And, then in vs. 8-9a, it says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country.." and in vs. 10, "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." And in vs. 11, Sara is mentioned as one who had received strength to conceive seed...she was past age and delivered a child, because she judged Him faithful Who had promised.

Vs. 6 makes it very plain why Faith in God is essential for us: "But, without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

*Let's look in on Abram, each one of us reading one verse.
[B] Genesis 17:1-8; 15-18 We will be concentrating on verses 1 & 2 of this passage.
*It is within these verses that God reveals His Name to Abram, and also, gives Abram a command..."walk before Me...be perfect." Also, God makes a covenant with Abram, just between the two of them, He says. The covenant: God is going to multiply through Abram exceedingly, and in vs. 4 tells him he will be the Father of many nations.

*EL SHADDAY, God Almighty, The One for Whom nothing is impossible made an Everlasting Covenant with Abraham, a covenant to be his God and the God of all the descendants who believe after Abraham. We are children of Abraham. Our hearts should be rejoicing and offering thanks to God for His covenant with us, too. When we are at points in our lives when we lack faith to believe, let's ask God, EL SHADDAY, God Almighty, to show us His strength in us and for us at these dire times. Will He not keep His promises to us?

I Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
*Perhaps there are times we find it easier to believe God on a grander scale...as Creator of the universe, Sustainer and Sovereign through the centuries--than it is to believe just one of God's promises for us. We KNOW God is Faithful...but we tend to forget sometimes, when it gets down to a personal level. Even faithful Abraham had his doubts from time to time.

Look back to Genesis 17:15-18. Abraham laughed in his heart (in disbelief) and then, as if not believing God, stated that perhaps Ishmael might be the one God would bless after him.

Again, human nature is at work: man is always trying to get what God offers on man's own terms. Why do we do that?! Are we God?! Can we not trust God or believe His Word when He says He is Faithful? Our part is to believe Him...to have the required faith of taking our hands off of a situation when it is one of those circumstances that there is nothing we can do. Nothing except to call on the name, EL SHADDAY, and ask him to help us bear up under our situation and tell Him we are confident of His ability to sustain and bless us. He will do this...according to the measure of faith we have in Him.

Psalm 91:1-2; and vs. 14 tell us to "dwell", that is to abide under the "shadow of the Almighty". Our response should be to say of the LORD that "He is our refuge..our fortress: our God; that we will trust Him. By this we tell God we love Him.

*When we are feeling alone, desperate, deserted, and no one knows or understands what we are going through God is there; God knows; and God will sustain us when we call upon Him. Those alone desperate feelings are not of the LORD, but the Enemy's lies to cause us to zero in ourselves...leaving God, the answer for all our needs, out of our focus.

We have many examples of those who believed God's promises to them despite the times of waiting on the LORD'S answer, like Abraham, times of being imprisoned, like Joseph, times of facing fiery and dangerous trials, like Daniel. In each situation and circumstance, God kept His promises to them; God is Faithful; God is ALMIGHTY...and nothing is impossible for God.

*Perhaps we are waiting for the LORD'S answer for some loved one's salvation or return to Him: that is to walk in His Ways... EL SHADDAY, God Almighty, can do it!

Perhaps we are imprisoned by our thought life, the things we can't let go of, our emotions keep us prisoner, our sin keeps us from trusting the LORD, our lack of fellowship with God keeps us spiritually weak and anemic...ASK EL SHADDAY to give you the perseverance and strength to break through these prison bars and be free. Free to have the abundant life He has for us. The Abundant Life He has already promised is ours right here and now and continues through Eternity.

*Perhaps we are facing fiery or dangerous trials in our life. Difficult and unappealing as it may seem or be, the answer to facing the trial is to GO THROUGH it. Go through in the faith that you are not alone, God is with you if you are called by His Name, and trusting that all that He has for us is good for us, we know He will bless us according to His will. He's allowed the trial in the first place and until we go through it, we will continue to repeat this trial or a form of it, over and over again until we "pass the test" of trusting God IN every situation.

*NOTICE the promise of verses 11 and 12:
*"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."