April 25, 2024

El Shaddai

December 30, 2015 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

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
We will praise and lift You high, El Shaddai

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

Through the years You made it clear
That the time of Christ was near
Though the people failed to see
What Messiah ought to be
Though Your Word contained the plan
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of Your Son

Michael Card
written along with John Thompson

 *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

We are most identified by characteristics and names that identify who we are.  For example, who I am—Coleen—can be described in many ways: wife, mom, tata (grandmother), daughter, sister, friend, worshipper, singer, baker, writer, pray-er, crafter, lover, listener, etc.  But 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 to 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 an eternal covenant such as this.  Only El Shaddai could have made a deadened womb to nurture life and bring forth a baby.  Only El Shaddai — God Almighty!

Another occurrence 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.”
Psalms 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 He does not change.

Would you share here in the comments below about this characteristic (or a different one) of the Great I AM that is important to you?  I would love to hear about it! 

 *  ~  ♥  ~  ✞  ~  ♥  ~  *

Almighty God,  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 ever and always encourage us to never doubt You, El Shaddai—You never change!  ‘Erkamka na, Adonai!’  Praying in Your Son, Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Erkamka na, Adonai! ~ translated~ I love You, Lord!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

A Living Prayer

January 19, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

In this world I walk alone with no place to call my home,
But there’s one who holds my hand through rugged roads, through barren lands.

The way is dark, the road is steep, but He’s become my eyes to see,
The strength to climb, my griefs to bear. The Savior lives inside me there.

In Your love I find release, a haven from my unbelief.
Take my life and let me be a living prayer, my God, to Thee.

In these trials of life I find another voice inside my mind.
He comforts me and bids me live inside the love the Father gives.

Take my life and let me be a living prayer, my God, to Thee.

~  Performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station; written by Ron Block  ~

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

This beautiful bluegrass ballad is an affirmation, a declaration, a commitment. It is the heart-cry of the songwriter to his God. I love that he wrote, ‘take my life and let me be….’  He recognized that, even though he had so much in his heart he wanted to commit to God Almighty, he still needed God’s involvement. He knew he needed God.

The writers of the Psalms often communicated very similar thoughts.

Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning.
Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning You hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for You and watch.
But let all who take refuge in You rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,
And spread your protection over them, that those who love Your name may exult in You.
For You bless the righteous, O Lord; You cover him with favor as with a shield.
Psalms 25:1-3, 11 and 12 ESV

Listen to my words, O Lord, give heed to my sighing and groaning.
Hear the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray.
In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].
Psalms 5:1-3 AMP

And as such it is with us, too. We cry out to our heavenly Father with words of commitment and declaration. Truly our affirmation of our trust in Him…our faith and belief that He is Faithful…our acknowledgment of our great need for our El Shaddai.

Take my life and let me be a living prayer, my God, to Thee!

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

God’s Promises

January 1, 2014 by

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day; Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.
For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.
Psalm 91

What a beautiful communication of Almighty God’s love for us! Full of promises telling us of just how God desires to care for us, and declarations of all He will do for us! If I have counted correctly, God makes thirty promises to us just in this one psalm.

God is faithful to each and every promise He has made…we stake all of our beliefs and our trust in Him on this absolute fact, true? But we must remember that sometimes He has attached a condition to be met (by you and me) to receive the fulfillment of a promise. Such as here, in verse 1…the writer of this psalm declares God to be El Shaddai which is interpreted as God Almighty or All-sufficient. If you and I ‘dwell in the shelter of the Most High’ then these promises are covering us. His shelter and His shadow provide refuge for those who dwell and abide.

This week in the Seeking Him daily devotional blog, our sisters are writing on Psalm 46. There, too, the psalmist confesses the Truth of just Who God Almighty is—our Refuge and our Strength.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way….
Verses 1 and 2

As we go forward from today, the first day of 2014, may we yearn to know God’s promises, do our part (where necessary), and be oh-so-very-thankful for all that we receive from our Faithful Father God!

Can I encourage you to try a little exercise?  Pick up your Bible, turn to the page where Psalm 91 is printed, and read ALOUD all the promises (30 of them remember!) included in just this one short psalm.  Every place there is a pronoun relating to us (he, him, you, your) replace it with your own name.  For example, speak your name where the   ♥   is.

Because {   ♥   } has loved Me, therefore I will deliver {   ♥   };
I will set {   ♥   } securely on high, because {   ♥   } has known My name. {   ♥   } will call upon Me, and I will answer {   ♥   };
I will be with {   ♥   } in trouble; I will rescue {   ♥   } and honor {   ♥   }.
With a long life I will satisfy {   ♥   } and let {   ♥   } see My salvation.

* * * * *

Almighty God, we praise You and thank You for Your awesome promises! How blessed we are by all Your promises! You have promised to provide for, and guide, and protect, and rescue, and deliver, and hear, and answer us. May we hold Your word(s) in our heart so that we do not sin against You. We surely need Your help to faithfully do so! We love You so very much, Lord! We pray and ask these things in Jesus’ name.    ♥  Amen.

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Praise Heart

November 28, 2013 by

We cannot praise God if we don’t know Him personally. It takes our relationship with Him for us to adore and admire His good works over our lives.

I stand in awe of Him because I personally know who He is to me and what He has done. He is so great, and so worthy to be praised. It is only when I realized this when I will truly worship, praise and admire and appreciate His works over my life.

For You are awesome God of Nations,
Lion of Judah, Rock of Ages, Alpha, Omega
You are worthy of all praise
More that these hands I’ll raise
I’ll live a life of praise!

from Life of Praise ~ Casting Crowns

When I say, “You are awesome!” it means I have run short of words— He is so wonderful! When I say, “Lion of Judah” it means I know He is reigning over every situation. Think of a lion the way it roars and what do other animals do when the lion is near? They flee for life. How about this Lion of Judah? At His name every knee will bow.

Lets just look at what He has done?  Read through this praise-filled psalm, Psalm 103.  He has done great and mighty things; looking from the time we were born to now; and the greatest thing of sending Christ to die on our behalf for us to have eternal life…don’t I have to jump with praise and live a life of praise?

What else do I want when I know He is worth it. He created me to praise Him again and again…He is mighty, awesome, excellent, great in battle!

There is a song I have composed (of course, have not taken to the studios yet!)…part of the lyrics says:

Adonai, I worship You today
El Shaddai, I worship You today
You are worthy of the praise
You are worthy of the glory
Adonai, I worship You today

And when I sing this song I feel His presence near me. Remember when our praises go up high to Him, His glory comes down and this song gets me closer to His throne.

It is the same with you, praise can be done anytime as long as you know Who you are praising, what He has done, and things He is yet to do—for they are awesome. Nothing compares to Him; hence He is the Alpha and Omega (He’s the beginning AND the end.)
He is our Rock of ages—solid rock. All other grounds are sinking sand hence us praising Him for He is the solid one never shaken even when the storm rages and it is because He is in me and I am in Him I don’t fear no storms and I am covered under this Rock. The Rock Who is Christ Jesus and this means if devil wants to attack he should start with the shelter (who is Christ) then come to me otherwise I am under maximum protection—hence my praise.

Father, I praise You and worship You for You are the great I AM!  In Jesus’ name, I pray. AMEN!!!

Filed Under: Seeking Him Daily Devotional Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

“I AM” Chapter 1 – Day 5 The Great I AM’s Character

July 12, 2013 by

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. 

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