El Shaddai

 I've been re-reading a book I read a few years ago,
The Names of God by David Wilkerson.

I loved it the first time I read it and I've been loving it now.

I've become reacquainted with the significance of God's name.  It benefits me to understand these names and to build my faith upon this knowledge.

His names reflect His character and who He is.  When we know His character we can trust that what we see in the natural is not what God sees. God will come through for us, always.

My next few posts will focus on a name of God and how reflecting on its meaning makes a world of difference in my faith levels.

"El Shaddai" which literally means "God, all-powerful and all sufficient".

God is "all-powerful" and "all sufficient", there is no problem or circumstance more powerful than He, no situation that would bankrupt His resources.  This is our God.  He calls us sons and daughters.  Knowing that "El Shaddai" calls me daughter is a big deal!  If He is allowing situations in our lives that seem to be way too much for us, He wants us to know that they are not overwhelming for Him.  Whatever the earthly outcome, He has the power and the sufficiency to bring us through it all.

I was just having a conversation with my mom about Joseph.  Joseph had some really horrific circumstances happen to him.  He was hated by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold to Egyptians, ripped away from his family, and regarded as dead to his family.  And, that was just the beginning of his problems.  He gets to Egypt and is in and out of prison, hired and fired from jobs, sexually harrassed by the boss's wife, and who knows what else.  God was in it all.  The "all powerful" and "all sufficient" God was positioning Joseph spiritually, emotionally, professionally and mentally for the calling upon his life.  It was a roller coaster experience, but in the end, Joseph recognized the greater picture.  His individual, and very personal experiences, were allowed because there was a bigger plan, far beyond himself and his troubles.  God called Him, from birth, to be the man that would keep Egypt alive and thriving through one of the land's greatest famines.  The calling was great, therefore, the boy had to be broken in, so that He'd be able to carry it all out.  The "all powerful" and "all sufficient" God allowed it, but never left him alone, strengthened him and brought him through.

El Shaddai is with me, with you.  In our hardest moments, let's remember the name of God that has the power and the sufficiency to bring us through to the other side.  We are not alone.

"I am God Almighty. . ."   Genesis 17:1