“…I am El Shaddai; Walk before Me, and be blameless.”

Do you believe God is Almighty? In all honesty, God has been asking me this question quite a lot lately. My life seems to be filled with chaos. Just when one thing seems to settle down, a new crisis arises. It feels unrelenting and unreasonably cruel at times. I question why God continues to allow it. Does He not have the power to save? Can He not order it to stop? Is He not Almighty?

The Hebrew name of God, the name that God gave to Abraham, is El Shaddai. It is commonly translated into English as “The Almighty.” Its meaning is far more fluent. In a study of the name you can find whole breadth of meanings: One of Absolute Strength; One Who Nourishes; One Who Sustains; One Who Protects; and One Who Provides. This name demonstrates God’s supreme power to act and to will.

“The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai; Walk before Me…” God is pointing out two important matters of faith. First, by God’s very Name He makes, holds, and delivers His promises. God wasn’t sharing His Name with Abraham to boast. God shared His Name so Abraham could be encouraged, strengthened, and renewed. By His Name, God was making a promise to Abraham – He will protect, nourish, sustain, and provide because He is the One of Absolute Power. He is the one to act and to will on behalf of Abraham. He is Almighty. Secondly, God was asking for Abraham’s obedience. God was asking Abraham to walk with Him. To continually make sure he was seeking the presence of the Lord.

When we, like Abraham, come to understand who God is, then we can arrive at a place of humility before His authority. Our humility puts us into a position where we can walk before God in obedience because we simply trust in His promises. This is what Abraham did, he trusted in the God whose very Name is overflowing with promises.

How often do we live in such complete humble submission and trust? I believe often, especially when the fires of life overwhelm us, our faith response to God is not one of trust and obedience, but rather one of spiritual poverty. We might say, “There is no way,” “It can’t be done,” or “It is impossible.” We deprive God of His Namesake the second we forget who He is. The fact of the matter, however, is we are not removing God’s Almightiness from Him; rather, we are bankrupting ourselves from experiencing the blessings of His power.

Abraham was ninety-nine when God made His promise to him. God’s promise must have seemed impossible. What would have happened if Abraham had said to God, “I don’t believe you have the power”? Yet, we say this to God all the time. The reality is we don’t really believe God is Almighty. We are bold in our lack of abandonment to God. Jesus knew this and every time He performed an impossible act, He would ask, “where is your faith?” Our faith is impoverished because we have not taken the time to walk before Him. Have you diminished God in your life?

God is not a god confined or limited. God is the God Almighty. Where there is no way – He has made a way. For nothing is impossible with God. If God has promised it, and His very Name is His promise, then He will complete His Promise. Faith is choosing to believe God and then choosing the abandonment of yourself to be continually in His presence. It is time to fall in love with God. Only in this relationship of deeper intimacy will you come to know God as Almighty. El Shaddai. Do you believe that God is Almighty? Whatever your situation may be right now, know that God is the One Who has the power to will and to act on our behalf.