El Shaddai

March 15

Numbers 10-11

Psalm 34:8-14

Proverbs 8:8-9

Mark 13:1-23

El Shaddai

“The Lord answered Moses, ‘Is the Lord’s arm too short?  Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”  Numbers 11:23 NIV

“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  Psalm 34:10 NIV

I love to compare different translations of the Bible.  Numbers 11:23 in The Message says, “God answered Moses, ‘So, do you think I can’t take care of you?  You’ll see soon enough whether what I say happens for you or not.”  Several years ago, I made it a practice to write Bible verses on index cards that speak to me so I can refer to them often.  I just wrote that one down.  That verse pretty much sums it up.  No matter what problem I may be facing, what question I may have, or what need I have, that is my answer.  God can take care of me. Whatever He has promised me will happen.  Over the last few years, my prayer has been that God will reveal Himself to me because I want to get to know Him better.  I have spent much of my life seeking Him for what He can do for me, but I just want to get to know Him for who He is now.  In the Old Testament we find many names for God.  They all reflect different aspects of His character.  One of my favorites is EL Shaddai.  It means “All sufficient one, the God of the mountains, God Almighty, the Enough.”  God is the all-sufficient source of all our blessings.  He is all-powerful.  Our problems are not too big for God to handle.  He is Enough.

Isaiah 59:1 says, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.” (NIV) Several years ago, my mother, my daughter, Emily, and I went to The Vatican and toured the Sistine Chapel.  One of the images Michelangelo painted on the ceiling is of God’s Hand reaching down from Heaven and Adam’s hand reaching up to God.  When I read these verses, that image came to my mind.  Surely, God’s arm is not too short to reach us.  My arms cannot possibly reach all the way to Heaven, but His loving arms can reach down to Earth to help me whenever I am in need.   He hears me and He answers me.  He is EL Shaddai.