Power in the NameНамуна

HE IS EL SHADDAI

‘Narroter’ the side of my cup read as a part of me died a little inside. ‘That’s not even a word,’ I mumbled to myself as I walked away from the coffee shop, annoyed but unsurprised. It’s only a name after all, right? 

Is a name ever really just a name?

When God tells Abram to call him El Shaddai, He isn’t just saying, ‘Hey, I like to be referred to as this’. He is sharing a part of who He is. He is telling Abram to call Him ‘Almighty’ and, in doing so, Abram is not just calling out a characteristic of God, but every time he says it, he is reminding himself that God is in fact, all-powerful. 

There is much significance at this moment because not only does God tell Abram a new name to call Him by, but He also gives Abram a new name. Abram shifts from ‘exalted father’ to Abraham, ‘father of a multitude’. This exchange of names for both God and Abraham signifies God reaffirming His covenant with Abraham. 

Now every time Abraham said his name, he would be reminded of that promise – that he would be a father to a multitude. Equally, every time he called out to El Shaddai, he would be reminded that he was not calling to a powerless God but rather to an all-powerful God who cared very much about what was in a name. 

What names do you call yourself? What name does God call you?

Written by NERI MORRIS