El Shaddai, God Almighty

Could you imagine what it would be like to be truly unlimited? God doesn't have to imagine.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.” (Genesis 17:1)

We used to have a pretty cool festival in Kansas in the small city of McPherson, a Scottish games festival. People with a Scottish heritage used to meet up and compete in games of strength, like the caber toss and rock-throwing. And I’m certain there had to be an award for who could throw things farthest while wearing a kilt.

Games of strength aren’t really my cup of tea, although I’m always astonished at the physical feats the human body is capable of performing. People can lift amazing amounts of weight. We can run crazy fast and jump insane heights.

But no matter how fast, no matter how far, no matter how strong, there is always a limit to what a person can do. Even with illegal medications designed to enhance performance, there is still a limit to what the human body can do.

Could you imagine what it would be like to be truly unlimited? To have unlimited strength? To have unlimited endurance? And unlimited capacity?

No, none of us can comprehend that. It’s one of those absolutes that are so far beyond us we can’t even imagine what possessing them would be like.

But God doesn’t have to imagine. God is El-Shaddai, the All-Mighty One. He doesn’t just have some might. He has ALL might. All strength. All ability.

If He wants a mountain to move, He will move it. If He wants a sea to split apart so people can walk through it on dry land. He’ll do it. If He wants a star or a planet to go somewhere else in the universe, He’ll pluck it from the void and hang it somewhere else. Scripture even gives us examples in the book of Acts (Acts 8:39) where He wanted Philip to be somewhere else; so God just moved him.

He is unstoppable. No walls can hold Him. No problems can stop Him. No barriers can slow Him down. No created thing in all the universe can affect His plans in any way because He has power and authority over all creation.

An almighty God like El-Shaddai has every reason to squash the life out of the tiny insect-like people He made out of dirt. But that’s not what He does. He could crush us, but instead He gives us life—and not just life—abundant life. Peace with Him. A good future. And everything we need for today.

El-Shaddai invites us into relationship with Him, a personal friendship with Him. And I don’t know about you guys, but having a friend who is all-mighty sounds like a pretty good idea.

Questions for Reflection

• Who is the strongest person you know, and why do you think of them that way?

• Why do you think we admire strong people so much?

• If God is so strong and good, why do you think He allows us to go through so many difficult challenges?

Weekly Memory Verse

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