El Shaddai - The God Who Satisfies

A message on the name El Shaddai - the God Who Satisfies.

I have a confession. When it comes to names, I have a mind like a steel trap. Problem is… I have a difficult time getting the trap open once it has shut. I struggle to remember the names of people who once were acquaintances but are no longer apart of my every day life. I recognize faces, but names often escape me.

We’ve been introduced to Elohim, Adonai, and El Elyon – today El Shaddai.

The name El Shaddai is familiar to most Christian. But what does it mean and how is it relevant to us?

God introduces Himself as El Shaddai 48 (x) in the O.T. The first time is in Gen. 17 with Abrham, but the most predominant use of the name is found in Job.

Name: El – (God) – mighty and powerful and shad – (breast) – the nurturing relationship a mother has with her infant child that she nourishes and satisfies. El Shaddai means the One mighty to nourish and satisfy.

What will it take to make you truly happy? What will it take to alleviate the anxiety you feel? Who or what will contentment bring to your life?

I ask this question for two reasons. First, because it is amazing to what lengths a person will go to find adventure and satisfaction – only to sip it and then crave even more. 2nd, it is amazing to what lengths a person will sink in desperation once they reach the summit and realize that it is not enough nor ever will be.

Neither pride, prestige, power, possession, passion, or pain killers can fill the void in the heart and soul of every man – it will never be enough!

For many of us the answer to this question often lies in our financial state. For others it is thought to be in the status we reach or the power we harness. Yet, the truth is, no one really seems to know how much is enough.

Do you think if I gave my wife a credit card with no limit and released her to buy anything she wanted it would be enough – We will never know.

How much is enough? Power, prestige, possessions, and passion are insatiable. Only by realizing that God is enough can we find fulfillment. This is the question presented to Abraham in Genesis chapter 17, and it is a concept that continues to be relevant today.

In Gen. 17 we find God teaching Abraham that El Shaddai is all that we need.

I. God Helps Those Who Are Helpless to Help Themselves

This statement is contrary to the claim some people have espoused. You’ve likely heard that God helps those who help themselves – that’s wrong.

Before God can move in our lives we must reach the point of impotence.

It’s important to remember that God initiated His covenant with Abraham in Gen. 12 when Abraham was 75, but had to wait 24 years before God would fulfill His promise of a son.

1. God often shapes us before using us.

God protected Moses when Pharaoh was killing baby boys. His mother set him adrift on the Nile, and he was rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter who then sought Moses' mother’s help. Raised in Pharaoh’s home with Egyptian privileges, Moses sympathized with God's people and tried to liberate them by killing an Egyptian overseer. God then took Moses away for 40 years to prepare him, Pharaoh, and the Israelites for the Exodus.

The duration spent in the wilderness is directly related to the magnitude of the task assigned by God. For instance, Moses spent 40 years in preparation, while Paul underwent 17 years of preparation before establishing the church

· God is unable to work through us until He resides within us.

God waited until Abraham was unable to have children, ensuring Abraham could not take any credit.

This is especially significant in the context of salvation.

As previously discussed, one can only establish a relationship with God through the acceptance and understanding of the Cross. Why?

· We are completely depraved.

We are sinners hostile toward God. We are helpless and hopeless.

Romans 3:10–11 (CSB) “as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. 11 There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.”

Romans 3:23 (CSB) “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;”

Isaiah 53:6 (CSB) “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.”

And we can do nothing to satisfy God’s wrath and hatred for sin.

Isaiah 64:6 (CSB) “All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.”

The best we offer God is rubbish (trash), and God will not be pleased.

· We are Utterly Dependent

Ephesians 2:8–9 (CSB) — 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

The concept of grace is central to Christianity's teachings, emphasizing that it is not derived from personal merit but rather from divine benevolence. It is believed that God, with omnipotent care, directs us toward salvation through His Son. The act of grace is manifested in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, offered to redeem all humanity.

We must acknowledge our profound helplessness and inability to help ourselves before we recognize the necessity of a Savior. Even then, we can’t be saved and have our sins forgiven unless we respond in faith when the Holy Spirit beckons and convicts us. We rely completely on Him for life and eternity. If He calls, it's crucial to respond; it might be His final invitation.

Only those who recognize their own helplessness can receive help from God.

II. God fulfills everything perfectly and on time.

He is always on time, neither early nor late.

God appears to Abraham when he is 99, unable to accomplish the task on his own, to demonstrate who is in charge. God reveals Abraham’s inadequacy to display His sufficiency.

He is not only all you need, but also all you need when you need it!

God will be faithful to His promises and affirm His purpose in His people at His time.

III. God’s Way Is The Only Way That Works

A. It is always the best way.

B. It seldom makes sense to man.

IV. God’s Way Always Requires A Response From Man

A. It requires Reverence

He requires that we bring our lives under His complete authority, willing to believe He knows what He is doing, even though we do not like it or understand it.

Note Abraham’s response when God shows up – he falls facedown down before God.

When God shows up, He demands a response, and He isn’t looking for arrogance or a stubborn carnal spirit; He is looking for a broken and contrite heart – for a life that is empty of self and responsive to His leading.

That is what is so amazing about Job. In Job, you find a rich, righteous, and religious man who honored God; when everything was taken away, he still honored God and praised God.

Then Job fell to the ground in worship. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 20-22

B. It requires Reliance

It requires faith; it requires us to place every area under God’s care. In verses 9-14, God asks Abraham to affirm his faith through circumcision—not just for himself, but for everything born of him and bought by him. Nothing is to be left out. We must trust Him in everything and in every way.

Proverbs 3:5–10 (CSB) “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 This will be healing for your body and strengthening for your bones. 9 Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest; 10 then your barns will be completely filled, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

Psalm 91:1 (CSB) — 1 The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. (El Shaddai)

Anything God has done, He can do for you. Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here. Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for you. Tozar

C. It requires a Response

Do you remember how Abraham responded when God told him the news that He was going to give him a son? He fell down laughing.

You can either believe in God or laugh at Him – but you can’t ignore Him.

Don’t miss the significance of the name El Shaddai. For it is when we come to the end of ourselves that we can discover that He is more than enough.

When you have nothing left but God, you become aware that God is enough!