El Shaddai Blessing! In recent days, the Lord has really been stirring me about His promise that He is “The All Sufficient One” Almighty God. As I was praying in Salzburg, Austria in my hotel room, the Lord impressed on me that He wanted to come to us with a visitation as El Shaddai with His blessing. During this encounter with the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke to me about “more than enough”—this is a time of overflow. There is an impartation in this teaching that will lead you into the breakthrough you are praying for. As you read this new article, may you receive the blessings of El Shaddai. “May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous” (see Genesis 28:3). Overflow God wants to do more than just meet and sustain my needs—He wants to come in super abundance and overflow. The visitation Abraham had is twofold in purpose. God will sustain—He is omnipotent and He will be super-abundant (nourishing) in nature. The Hebrew name for “Almighty God” is “El Shaddai”—the name in which God first revealed Himself to Abram. “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly” (Genesis 17:1-2 KJV). Here, El Shaddai implies more than just Almighty God—as powerful, strong mountain, fortress, conquering one—but also the one who gives strength, grace, and power in man’s weakness and frailty to endure. It is a promise that He will multiply us exceedingly and make us fruitful. El Shaddai is also said to refer to the nature of God that determines exactly what is enough for each of us: how much blessing a person needs or how much suffering a person can endure. Strength in Weakness God revealed Himself as God Almighty when Abraham was struggling to believe that God could still carry out His promise to make him a father of many nations. God’s name in this context conveys His ability to fulfill His promises. Of course, Abraham was weak in his body being 99 years old, but after all those years of believing for the promise of a son, there was opportunity for Abram to grow weak in faith, but he didn’t! I believe one of the key reasons to Abraham’s strength in believing faith was this visitation of Almighty God. It was like God was coming as El Shaddai with His blessing to impart, sustain, and bless Abraham so he could see the promise fulfilled. God reveals Himself as Almighty God (El Shaddai) in those moments of our greatest weakness and temptation to give up. He comes to confirm His promise to us and give us supernatural strength that we need to continue in faith until the promise is fully manifest. Theologian A.W. Pink in Gleanings in Genesis says, “The revelation which God here made of Himself was well suited to the occasion. This was the first time that He revealed Himself as ‘the Almighty.’ None but One who possessed all power could meet Abram’s need at this time. Ninety and nine years of age, his body dead; Sarah barren and long past the age of childbearing—how could they have hope to have a son? But with God all things are possible. And why? Because He is El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient One.” He has come to meet our need in fullness. Charles Spurgeon spoke of El Shaddai this way, “Here is this name, ‘El Shaddai;’ ‘El,’ that is, ‘the strong one,’ for infinite power dwells in Jehovah. How readily may we who are weak become mighty if we draw upon Him! And then, ‘Shaddai,’ that is to say, ‘the unchangeable, the invincible.’ What a God we have then, who knows no variableness, neither shadow of turning, against whom none can stand! ‘El,’ strong; ‘Shaddai,’ unchangeable in His strength; always therefore strong in every time of need, ready to defend His people.” Visitation The original promise God gave to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3 would not be fulfilled until the Lord visited him in Genesis 18:1-10. It took more than 25 years for the fulfillment of that promise. In this passage in Genesis 17:1-2, it was after 12 years of enduring faith and patience for the promise that God had already given him many years ago. In fact in Genesis 17:1, this was already the sixth time that God had come to give Abraham the same promise and confirm the covenant that He made years earlier. It would be another 13 years before the angel of the Lord would come in Genesis 18:10 to announce the release of the full promise. Understanding this first visitation where God revealed Himself as Almighty God is important in this text. God’s name in Scripture is intimately linked to His divine nature, character, and actions. It is important to study this Hebrew name for God to see the many things that God is not only saying to Abraham but also doing in him in this passage. As you come to truly know God as El Shaddai, God Almighty, you will be enabled to lay hold of His power and His sufficiency to carry out what He has promised. This is the visitation that gave them the faith here. “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Saras womb: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; “And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform” (Romans 4:19-21 KJV). “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11 KJV). El Shaddai Fullness When we have a full revelation of the Hebrew meaning of the name Almighty God (El Shaddai), we can begin to understand what the El Shaddai blessing is. Definition of Almighty God (El Shaddai): El comes from a root word meaning “might, strength, power, and strong one like a mountain.” It means “The All Sufficient God or sustainer.” It indicates that Shaddai is related to the word for breasts (shadaim), indicating sufficiency and nourishment. It occurs 48 times. It is God’s complete sufficiency to nurture and nourish the fledgling nation into fruitfulness and abundance. Indeed, God first uses this name when He refers to multiplying (make fruitful) Abraham’s offspring (see Genesis 17:2). As Abraham and Paul (and many other saints) learned, it is when we come to the end of ourselves and our own resources that we begin to “tap into” the sufficiency of the supply of El Shaddai and find that it is more than adequate for all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Here’s another great definition: “The God of Strength.” Probably related to the word “mountain” and suggests the power or strength of God. This name also emphasizes God’s covenant-keeping nature (see Genesis 17:1). Some feel Shaddai is derived from a root that refers to a mother’s breast, sustaining a newborn infant. If so, it conveys love, tenderness, and mercy—all that a mother is to a dependent newborn, so God is to His children. The blessing of Almighty God is also directly linked to the blessing Jacob spoke over Joseph. Remember, Joseph means increase. “Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, (El Shaddai) who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and womb” (Genesis 49:25 KJV). “Your fathers blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers” (Genesis 49:26 NIV). Abundant Grace All of us have unfulfilled promises and many times face great discouragement, disappointment, and even grow weak in faith waiting for the fulfillment of what we know God promised. We have those moments in which we can grow weak and weary. This is when Almighty El Shaddai comes to give us the strength to endure and bless us with His over-abundant nature that nourishes us in faith and resources. He is the author and finisher of our faith. God initiates the promise and gives us grace so we can finish and see our faith and hope fulfilled. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 KJV). The purpose of His grace and all sufficient nature is that not only your needs be met, but that His abundance be released to you for the gospel. So we see that the name El Shaddai speaks to us of God’s power and sufficiency. It also speaks to us of the inexhaustible supply of God’s riches and strength. It reminds us that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and His fullness in our emptiness. Do we have needs that must be supplied? We must empty ourselves of our own pride and self-sufficiency and let El Shaddai fill us and make us fruitful. I believe God is bringing us into a season of divine fulfillment and sustaining us in faith. He is also blessing us with His strength and resources to meet our every need. I pray the El Shaddai blessing over you now in Jesus’ name. Todd Bentley Say Thank You! If you are blessed by this word and the ministry of Todd Bentley, and would like to say thank you, please consider sowing into this ministry now and help make this teaching ministry continue to be a blessing. The information and direct link for sowing into this ministry is below. Go To freshfireusa DOT com to support FFM ministries!
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 17:47:41 +0000
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