The Names of GodНамуна

El Shaddai: God Almighty

Are you up against the wall today? Financial pressure, a hard diagnosis, family conflict, and uncertainty about the future can leave us feeling discouraged and weak. Jacob felt like his back was against the wall, too. He had run away from home, fleeing from his brother Esau, who had vowed to kill him. You see, Jacob was a liar and a cheat; Esau had a right to be angry. After almost two decades in a foreign land, Jacob had come home. What would Esau do? Would he take his revenge?

Amazingly, Esau welcomed his wayward brother. Then God told Jacob to go to Bethel, where Jacob had first met God in a dream. Now, so many years later, once a liar and a cheat and now a restored brother, God tells Jacob he will have a new name and makes him a promise of many children and prosperity.

But how can Jacob know that God will keep his promise? God calls himself “God Almighty”, which in Hebrew is “El Shaddai”. Here is the God who created the universe from nothing and keeps the earth spinning in its orbit. He is mighty, powerful, and able to provide and protect. If he says he will bless Jacob with children and prosperity, he will do it. If he says he will send a savior to save us from our sins, he will do it. He has done it!

This doesn’t mean we can ask and get whatever we want; God’s will is perfect and we must trust him. Even if our circumstances don’t change, God is still powerful. If he doesn’t change the circumstance, he’ll change us, to make us more like Christ.

Prayer: God Almighty, creator and sustainer, the one who protects and provides, I need you today! I need you to step into my circumstances. I need help, and I trust that you are the powerful God who can save me. Even if you choose not to change the circumstances, I will trust you, because I know if you don’t change them you will change me. Amen.