Walk with the Almighty

A dad was hanging out at home with his two small children when they proclaimed, “Dad, we NEEEEEED to go to the park, now!” While he did take them to the park, it was not lost on him how their desire to go to the park had become a “need,” instead of a “want.” How often do we do the same thing in our modern culture? Moreover, how often do we turn the desires of the heart into needy demands of our Heavenly Father?

In the Bible, Abram, who in Genesis 17:5 is renamed Abraham, certainly must have wrestled with the tension of “wants” becoming “needs.” At 99 years old, he had many things except the one thing he desired and longed for the most: a child. Abram’s perspective is essential in understanding our passage for today, for it is not a human father making this request to Abram to walk before me and be blameless; it is God Almighty, El Shaddai. How God identifies Himself helps us understand Who He is, and just like Abram, it can give us confidence that we, too, can walk before Him and be blameless. EL sets forth His Almightiness and Shaddai, His infinite fullness and abundance.

El Shaddai is Almighty God - infinite, full, abundant, able, and All-Powerful. Living each day in view of God as our El Shaddai empowers us to walk with trust in His powerful ability and never-ending abundance. Like Abram, we can trust God’s wisdom with His timeline and with our desires, knowing that He has promised to provide all that we truly need and more than we ask, for our good and His glory (Philippians 4:19; 2 Peter 1:3; Romans 8:28). We can approach life not just with a desire to walk before God but with all that we need to walk before Him and be blameless.

Reflect & Pray

Father, today, help me remember Who supplies me with everything I need. Give me a clearer view of You as El Shaddai, knowing I cannot make it on my own. I need You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.