As we consider the majestic names of God, one of the most comforting to us is El Elyon, the Most High God.
El Elyon is described in a way that brings great comfort in Psalm 91: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’" [Psalm 91:1-2]
It's a psalm of great encouragement for those who are in a loving relationship with the Lord: "‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’" [Psalm 91:14-16].
Sounds like relationship to us: he who loves the Lord, who acknowledges His name, understanding Who He is and what He can do, calls out and is answered.
That describes a prayer life that's rooted and grounded in love -- and results in the Lord sheltering, rescuing, protecting and delivering. It's our relationship with the Lord that brings such results in our prayer lives. It's in knowing Him and loving Him that we can come to Him as our shelter, our God in Whom we trust. The more we know and love Him, the more faith we have, the more we pray, the more answers we see.
Pray with us — El Elyon, we acknowledge that You are our Most High God, our refuge and our fortress. Help us to know You and to love You, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
God is good. All the time.
All the time. God is good.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’” (Genesis 17:1, NIV)
The LORDJehovah gave Abram a revelation of Himself when He introduced Himself with the title, God Almighty, El Shaddai [EL-SHA-DYE]. This is a wonderfully encouraging picture of God for us today because El Shaddai reveals both the all-powerful and most-tender sides of His nature.
El in Hebrew is the shortened form of Elohim, our Creator God, and Shaddai is Hebrew for Almighty.
El Shaddai is our all-powerful God who can create something from nothing, who can bring to life that which has no breath; nothing is too difficult for Him. But to understand the full significance of God’s character as revealed in this title, it’s to helpful understand that there is a word play between shaddai and shad, which means breast—different Hebrew words that sound alike. This indicates a quality of tenderness in God Almighty, like a mother feeding a baby. El Shaddai is our God who nourishes us,
sustains us, our all-bountiful God who has an endless supply of whatever we need at the most personal
level.
For this reason, El Shaddai could be translated as our all-powerful Nourisher or Sustainer, our
all-sufficient God, or—our personal favorite (from T.W. Hunt in Disciple’s Prayer Life)—the Out-Pourer of
Blessings. He is All-Powerful and He has unlimited resources to meet our needs and bring His blessing into
our lives.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless.’” (Genesis 17:1, NIV)
The LORDJehovah gave Abram a revelation of Himself when He introduced Himself with the title, God Almighty, El Shaddai [EL-SHA-DYE]. This is a wonderfully encouraging picture of God for us today because El Shaddai reveals both the all-powerful and most-tender sides of His nature.
El in Hebrew is the shortened form of Elohim, our Creator God, and Shaddai is Hebrew for Almighty.
El Shaddai is our all-powerful God who can create something from nothing, who can bring to life that which has no breath; nothing is too difficult for Him. But to understand the full significance of God’s character as revealed in this title, it’s to helpful understand that there is a word play between shaddai and shad, which means breast—different Hebrew words that sound alike. This indicates a quality of tenderness in God Almighty, like a mother feeding a baby. El Shaddai is our God who nourishes us,
sustains us, our all-bountiful God who has an endless supply of whatever we need at the most personal
level.
For this reason, El Shaddai could be translated as our all-powerful Nourisher or Sustainer, our
all-sufficient God, or—our personal favorite (from T.W. Hunt in Disciple’s Prayer Life)—the Out-Pourer of
Blessings. He is All-Powerful and He has unlimited resources to meet our needs and bring His blessing into
our lives.
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