“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)

In the life of Abram, God reveals Himself as God Almighty, from His calling to be a blessing to the world, to the birth of Isaac. El-Shaddai, God Almighty is from the basic word for God, El and an interesting word Shaddai, normally translated as Almighty. The word can also be translated as “overpowerer.” That is the one who has the ability to overpower anything and everything. We see this in the life of Abraham. God tells Abram that He will bless the world through him. From the pages of history to the pages of Scripture, God blesses the world with the legacy of Abram, whose name is changed by God to Abraham. God’s desire was that Abraham’s life would be both faithful and blameless. Through His life God would show His power to Abraham, with the birth of Isaac, the son of promise, to Abraham and His wife Sarah in their old age, well beyond childbearing years. Abraham would be tested on His trust in God when God would ask Him to sacrifice the son of promise to Him. The question for Abraham was how would God fulfill His promise concerning Isaac? With the provisions for the sacrifice, all except for the sacrifice itself, Isaac asks his father, “The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7) Abraham’s answer to his son, “God Himself would provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Here Abraham’s trust in God’s power is evidenced. God will provide. Not just the sacrifice, but also his promise to build a great nation through Isaac. God, as an overpowerer is an appropriate idea as Abraham travels on with his son. God provides a ram after He stops Abraham from sacrificing his son. With this background, God would provide His Son as the Lamb. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus provides the evidence that God is Almighty.

How is God to show Himself as God Almighty? How will He fulfill His promise to Abraham? It is through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His resurrection that God demonstrates He is Almighty. His power can now bring life to all who will trust in God as Abraham did by faith. This promise will be finally realized when time is over, and eternity begins. “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light.” (Revelation 21:22-24)

As with Abraham, our faith in Almighty God is that we can be faithful and blameless. This faith gives us the hope of what is to come. This faith is in God who has the power for He is Almighty. As with Abraham, what He promises will be done.

Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.
El-shaddai, el-shaddai,
Words by Michael Card and John Thompson

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block