In the Word: El-Shaddai

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at different names of God found in Scripture, and how these different aspects of who He is offer us hope in the midst of our grief.  As we study together, we encourage you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you study these names of God along with us! 

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El Shaddai

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.’”
Genesis 17:1

READ:

Abram, a childless old man, was ninety-nine when God appeared to him and made a staggering promise. This God Almighty, El Shaddai, would make a covenant of multiplication between him as Abram walked before Him. The grief of barrenness had long been part of Abram’s story; Sarai’s arms and womb void of children.

And yet this El Shaddai moved near. The “All-Sufficient One, The Lord God Almighty,” was named El Shaddai seven times in Scripture, exclusively in the Old Testament. And while El points us to God, Shaddai is thought by many to have derived from the Hebrew word shad meaning “breast.” God calls Himself El Shaddai because He Himself is able to meet our needs completely, satisfying us uniquely as a nursing mother does her child—a God who freely gives, a God who freely sustains, a God who freely blesses. Enough love and grace and nearness for a broken world.

El Shaddai was spoken for the first time to Abram, a man who no doubt had dreams for his family that did not match its reality. In God’s kindness He essentially proclaims to him, “I know what you truly long for, and I’m here to satisfy you beyond every dream of what you think that will look like.” God, the better fulfillment, the only All-Sufficient One—this God, our God, satisfies. In the depths of our aches and our pains, He can meet our needs. Abundantly. Yes, the needs of weakness and insufficiency in our grief.  Yes, the loneliness and emptiness—the voids and the doubts.  Yes, the anxiety, the fears, the longing for something not yet. God meets us here in all of this. Today. “His grace is sufficient for you, for [His] power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

REFLECT:

1. In what aspects of your grief or family makeup is it challenging for you to trust that God is all-sufficient?
2. What are some of the needs you long for God to satisfy? Are there any deeper desires beneath the surface of those? If so, what might be those deeper roots?
3. What do you normally turn to in hopes of satisfaction? How, instead, might God meet you where you are to truly satisfy?

JOURNAL:

In Jesus, God’s grace is made sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in our weakness, as is written in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Take a moment to consider and make a list of ways God has met your needs, and the needs of your family or children, in your grief or in other parts of your life past and present. Thank Him for those things. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to show you those places of weakness where you need God’s grace to be sufficient for you now—surrender those things to the Lord and invite Him in to sustain you.

My husband John-Mark and I live in Richmond, VA, where we spend our days with college students, sharing the grace and truth that Jesus offers as He transforms their lives – and ours. I am a big fan of warm weather and the beach, meaningful conversations with those I love, and my family. These days I am in a new phase of my motherhood as I invest most of my time caring for my youngest, a sweet baby girl. The greatest honor of my life is being a mom of two with babies in Heaven.

We would be honored to share your story as a Hope Mom on our blog. On Saturdays we feature Hope Moms’ stories in order to showcase God’s faithfulness even in the midst of such deep sorrow. If you would like to have your story shared on our blog for this purpose, learn more and submit here.