LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Thursday 25th November 2021
EL-SHADDAI
Scripture Reading: Genesis 17
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. Genesis 17:1
We get often a deeper and richer meaning of the Bible when we study the original text, in this case the Old Testament in Hebrew. God revealed Himself to Abraham as El Shaddai – the all-powerful One. He is the all self-sufficient one – the absolute ruler, who can and does all things. It is this name that is rendered as the Almighty God in our English Bible.
Melchizedek revealed God to Abraham as God Most High; but the Lord revealed Himself to Abraham as the Almighty God. The term is mostly used in the book of Genesis. What does God as El Shaddai mean?
- He is all sufficient – He satisfies all our longings. In Him all fullness dwells, and out of His constant fullness, He gives to His own all things.
When you have Him, you don’t need anything else. He is the bountiful supplier who does not experience shortages. He satisfies the hungry and nourishes the weary.
- He is all mighty – In the Bible, the term Almighty is applied only to God. He has all the power to do all that He wants to do. He told Abraham not to allow age and time to discourage him.
The All-Mighty one renewed the strength of Abraham. The All-Mighty one renewed the body of Sarah. Out of that impossible condition, He gives them a son because He is El-Shaddai. He can renew our strength.
This is a truly empowering revelation of our great God. He is our El Shaddai – our sufficiency. May we learn to trust and depend on Him more because there’s nothing He cannot do when He purposes to do it for us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the all-sufficient one. In you all my needs are met. I trust you to fulfil your word to me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.