El Shaddai : The All-Sufficient One
- Series: Names of God
- by: Rebekah Crosby 02/25/08
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty [El Shaddai]; walk before me and be blameless...Abram fell facedown." Genesis 17:1
The words were thick in my throat. I knew that I had to speak of my love for Jesus to my friend, but my sin was fresh on my mind. Satan started in on me with his usual tactics.
"You are so tired. Maybe another time would be better; a time when you are close to the Lord and being obedient. A time when you are not so depressed about your own sin."
From the Screwtape Letters (a novel by C.S. Lewis that is written as a dialogue between a demon mentor and his student), Uncle Screwtape tells his protoge Wormwood, "Do remember you are there to fuddle him." In a later chapter, he tells Wormwood, "fix his attention inward that he no longer looks beyond himself to see our Enemy [God] or his own neighbours."
The enemy's main purpose in life is to keep us from following the Lord. If he can't keep us from being saved, he will do what it takes to make sure we are unproductive. He is in the business of increasing our fear and decreasing our faith. His time is spent contorting our thoughts and wrecking our relationships. He loves to stomp on our boldness and nothing gives Him greater joy than to cause us to become stagnant in our faith.
My tongue finally became loose and I was able to express my faith in Jesus to my friend. But it was not without great delay and struggle. The enemy did not win that encounter, but I know of many that he did win. It was my own sin that gave me pause. Sin is not only a separation from the Lord, but it also makes our witness quite ineffective. It creates a road block to our growth as believers.
In Genesis 15, "[God] took [Abram] outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'”
Abram responded to this promise by later sleeping with his wife Sarai's servant, Hagar. He foolishly went along with Sarai's ignorant plan to begin their family line through her maid, though the Lord had promised that they would be fruitful (without the help of Hagar). This took place just before the Lord revealed Himself as El-Shaddai...the all-sufficient God. Abram fell on His face before the Lord after this revelation, deep in the midst of his sin.
Brother Giles of Asssisi stated, "You do right in grieving for your sin. However, I advise you to grieve moderately. For you must always believe that God's power to forgive is greater than your power to sin."
Sometimes we allow our sin to have more power than it should. We forget that God is sufficient to cover our short-comings. We forget that His power transcends our ability to mess up.
When the Lord told Abram that He was all-sufficient, He didn't use the words except or unless.
"I am El Shaddai, except when you sin. I am All-Sufficient, unless you disobey me. I am God Almighty, except when you are weak."
There are no strings attached. God hasn't given you a list of things you have to accomplish in order for Him to be powerful. It's not like you are filling out an application for graduate school or college. He's not going to look at your GRE scores before He uses His power. He's not going to read your personal essay with a fine tooth comb to determine whether you deserve His strength. He is All-Sufficient. Period. That is not contingent upon you.
This means that your needs are covered. Your wants are taken care of. He has more power than Entergy and more strength than the Hulk. So lay it down, girl. You've got nothing on Him.
Lord, remind us daily of your sufficiency. Help us to not blow our sins out of proportion, but to lay them at your feet. Help us to have eyes to see your power, and the wisdom to find your strength. Protect us from Satan's scheme to keep us from being effective witnesses. Please give us the energy and desire to grow in You. Give us the boldness to proclaim your gospel to the nations, and the discernment to put our sins in their place...at your feet.