When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before Me faithfully and be blameless.” Genesis 17:1 NIV
After thirteen years of silence, the Lord appears to Abram in a new revelation and with a new name – God Almighty. In the Hebrew it is El Shaddai, which essentially means “the God who is sufficient,” the all-competent God, the adequate God, who knows what He is doing and how to do it. There is a tenderness in this name because the word “Shaddai” comes from the Hebrew word for “breast”. Just as a baby receives strength and nourishment from its mother’s breast, so the children of the Lord receive all they need from the hand of the “Almighty God”. This is an indication that Abram has learned something from his recent bitter experience. The Lord says, in effect, “You have been learning for thirteen years the total inadequacy of your own efforts, through Ishmael. Now learn a new thing about me. I am El Shaddai. You have discovered by sad experience how futile your plans and efforts can be without Me. Now learn how capable I am to do everything that I desire to do, whenever I desire to do it.” Would that we could all discover this truth afresh! We need desperately to recover the reality of El Shaddai, the Lord who is sufficient for whatever we are going through right now! This is what Abram learned. In this new light from the Lord came a new demand from Him. “Walk before me faithfully and be blameless.” We too, like Abram, have been called to walk faithfully and be blameless before our Lord.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, help us to walk faithfully and blameless through Your Holy Spirit.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
As You are the Lord Almighty, our Nourisher and Strength, we choose to walk faithfully and blameless in the power of Your indwelling Holy Spirit. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
1 Timothy 4:7b-16
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