Who I am—Coleen—can be described by many names: wife, mom, gramma, daughter, sister, friend, worshipper, singer, baker, writer, pray-er, crafter, lover, listener, etc. The Great I AM has described Himself throughout the Scriptures with many names—Yahweh (YHWH), ELohim, Adonai, LORD, Jehovah, JAH, EL Shaddai…. I believe He has used these (and additional) names to graciously help us to understand more of His character. The Great I AM makes Himself known to us through the words of His Word, as well as through His Creation, through His Spirit, through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ, through the words of the prophets—in oh so many ways!
One of my most favorite characteristics of I AM is that He IS God Almighty…El Shaddai. Hearing this name brings comfort and peace to my heart! The fact and truth that Almighty God/El Shaddai loves me (and you, too!) and perfectly provides His care, provision, protection, supply of my (your!) needs is so thrilling my soul! The most common understanding of the title El Shaddai is “God Who is Almighty.” There are 48 times in the Scriptures where God calls Himself by the name El Shaddai. Let’s look at just a couple of these records.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I AM the Almighty God <El Shaddai>; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect.
Genesis 17:1
This is the very first record in the Scriptures where I AM identifies Himself in this way. God Almighty/El Shaddai was about to reveal to Abram a part of the covenant He was making with him. And this is where He promises the 99 year old Abram that he and his 90 year old wife, Sarai, would be having a son!!! This is such a beautiful record! (You can read the complete record here.) Only El Shaddai could have made such an eternal covenant. Only El Shaddai could have made a deadened womb to nurture life and bring forth a baby. Only El Shaddai…God Almighty!
Another example where the Great I AM is called by the title El Shaddai is in Psalm 91. The psalmist declares,
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty <El Shaddai>.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my Refuge and my Fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91: 1-2
Perhaps you, too, rejoice in your heart of hearts that El Shaddai, Who is the Great I AM, loves and cares for you in the very same ways He has always cared for His people. He is God and does not change.
Would you share here in the comments about this or a different characteristic of the Great I AM that is important to you? I would love to hear about it!
El Shaddai, El Shaddai, El-Elyon na Adonai,
Age to age You’re still the same, by the power of the Name.
El Shaddai, El Shaddai, Erkamka na Adonai,
I will praise you ’till I die, El Shaddai.
Erkamka na, Adonai! …translated… I love You, Lord!
Praying for each of you!
♥ coleen
Let’s Pray:
Almighty God, our El Shaddai, we praise You and thank You and love You with our whole hearts! You always show Yourself mighty on behalf of Your children! You are our Refuge and our Fortress—our God in Whom we trust! May we always be cognizant of Who You are…the Great I AM. May we be excited to read of and to remember Your awesome acts and works that are recorded in the Scriptures. May they encourage us to never doubt You, El Shaddai, and the fact that You never change! ‘Erkamka na, Adonai!’ Praying in Your Son, Jesus’ name.
Amen.
About coleen hayden
So beautifully written Coleen! I love your writings. Daily I am blessed by them. I would have to say that “El Olam” (Everlasting God) takes a special place in my heart. To know that there is someone in my life that will always be there is such a comfort. Losing both my parents so long ago has been so difficult, I miss them so much. For so long I was angry because it seemed like I had no one left. The bible tells us we are “born to die,” so we know that we will eventually lose those which we love, but it still does not remove the loneliness. But praise God “El Olam” that He is EVERLASTING. We will always have Him, We never have to be Lonely. HE IS, and WILL ALWAYS be with us! Great blog Coleen, I’m so excited to see where this study takes us next.
mary, knowing that the Great I AM is our El Olam does bring so much comfort! He was, is and always will be!!! thanks for sharing your heart with us. xo <3
I can’t imagine a king ever becoming a close friend of mine. And yet God Almighty, the King of kings, the Lord of lords wants to have that kind of relationship with me (and you)! The verse that popped into my head this morning is Proverbs 18:24b, “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” In the margin of my Bible, I have written “Jesus.” Just as the Israelites failed many times so do we. Yet God stuck with them and kept bringing them back into relationship with Him, and He does the same for us through our relationship with Jesus. I know The King, and He is a close friend of mine!
‘King of kings, and Lord of lords’…the Great I AM! thank you,clella, for reminding us that He does desire us; are we not so incredibly blessed by His choice to be our Friend?!? He is truly the Faithful Friend! <3
One of my favorite characters of God is
EL-ROI…………….Genesis 16:13, meaning “The strong one who sees”
God sees my every moment, so He is able to correct me, to direct my path when I am heading the wrong direction, to re-swizzle my thoughts, to push me toward Him when I have backed away, to shut me up when I need to be quiet, to comfort me through my tears. In simple words He knows me, He sees me….so He is able to lead me.
I am so thankful that He has these powerful eyes and cares for me more than any other!
Thank Coleen for reminding me again this morning what my Lord is in my life!
Love you ladies , it has truly been a wonderful week reconnecting/remembering who the
“I AM” was, is, and will be!!!!
bev, SUCH a comforting Name of the Great I AM!!! what peace it brings to our lives and hearts remembering this….thank you for reminding us of that name, bev! <3
🙂 Love to learn about the many names of God!
Beverly, this is my favorite also and the one I have been meditating on all week.
🙂
El Shaddi Lord God Almighty is all knowing, and all powerful. As a child growing up in church, I was in awe of my God as all knowing and in control of our universe. My father was very scientific and many times as we traveled the country he would be in awe of our God’s wonderful creation. He would marvel at how species would change and evolve to survive. I can still hear my father say ” How can anyone look upon this earth and see the order and planning and not know there is a God?” Grieving the loss of my father I was drawn to my Lord and Savior because I knew he would never leave me. HE was my protector Jehovah- Sabaoth!! Life brings us joy and trials as I depended and leaned on my protector I began to understand how our Lord Shepherds us through Life. I am in awe of of the Lord God Almighty that wants to have a personal relationship with me!! He not only wants us to walk with him, he purposefully makes things happen in our life to bring us closer to HIM!! Oh how wonderful HE is our all knowing, merciful, and loving GOD!!!
lorraine, that the Great I Am would show Himself to be your Jehovah-Sabaoth—the Lord of Hosts, always watching over and protecting you—what an awesome comfort! thanks for sharing your dad’s heart for his Creator with us <3
As I have gotten to know God by His character, I find that I call on Him by the name that I need at that moment. These days I need my Abba. I appreciate Him for His protection and provision for my life. I am in awe of His power and presence. Mostly, I love my Abba!
i love your ABBA, too, teresa! The Great I AM is our protective Father…oh-how-He-loves-us-so! thank you, again, for choosing God’s leading and direction and His words in your heart and mind…and sharing them with us, teresa! <3
The name “I AM” is one of the most precious to me. He is present, not he was, he did, he will….but he IS, I AM…he is in our midst, ever present. Living in each moment is tough at times for me, I am learning though and in doing so time slows and I am revealed the preciousness of these moments. Beautiful devotional today, praise God for using you as His instrument
oh YES, julie, He IS! great persective for us to keep…’cause He surely is in the present! and you are welcome; praising Him along with you! <3
Beautiful blog, Coleen!!! Great comments, too. I am going to get caught-up this weekend! <3
Job 19:25
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
25 “As for me, I know that my [a]Redeemer lives,
And [b]at the last He will take His stand on the [c]earth.
oh! Redeemer! yes, one to hold dear to our hearts! thanks, cg! <3
El Roi, He sees, He knows and He is taking care of everything! No worries, my job is to trust and obey. Thank you this study! It’s just what I needed, Bible study for camping.
one of the joys of an obs, yes. vicki?!? El Roi…what comfort that the Great I AM does know, and is always taking care. my life is in His hands! <3
one of the joys of an obs, yes. vicki?!? El Roi…what comfort that the Great I AM does know, and is always taking care. my life is in His hands! <3
Jehovah Rapha, because it was only through His love that my past and hurting heart was healed. Through this healing I was able to truly forgive, see myself through His eyes and realize my worth. Thank you Jehovah Rapha, you are my Abba.
paula, He IS the Great Physician, yes? thanks for sharing your praises! <3
Here is a link to a website that offers a FREE Chart of the Names of God and their meanings. http://www.rose-publishing.com/Assets/ClientPages/Echart_namesofgod.aspx?gclid=CNb0uYvZrLgCFYhAMgodGCcAVA
Jehovah Shalom & Rahpa is Who I am praying to this week for a certain situation in my life.
BEAUTIFUL blog, Coleen. You have ALL done an amazing job this week!! Thank YOU for all you do for GCH!
praying along with you, christi! i continue to be amazed at how kind our Father is to help us to know Him more and more as He defines Himself and MAKES Himself KNOWN by the specific ‘names’ that He identifies Himself by! praising the Great I AM! <3