April 24, 2024

A Perfect Protector

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As for God, His way is perfect:
The Lord’s word is flawless;
He shields all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except out God?
It is God who arms with strength and keeps my way secure.
Psalms 18:30-32

Perfection.  I will go ahead and say that I have tried many times to be perfect. Have I ever achieved it?  No.  I never will. I have flaws.  I was born that way.  God made me with flaws for His own reasons.  I can either take advantage of those flaws to make myself better or let those flaws bring me down.  God gives me the strength to get past these flaws.

If we let our flaws bring us down, we can take refuge in a God who understands us because He made us.  God knew us before we born.  He knit us in our mothers’ wombs; therefore, He knows every fiber of our body.  This is one way He is our Rock and Shield.  He knows where we need protection and a fighting way against the evil of the world.  He arms us with the ways to stay strong and secure in our lives.

As Psalm 18:2 says, “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God is my Rock, in Whom I take refuge, my Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold,” God delivers me from my flaws which allow me to fall into temptation and to feel down.  He arms me with the strength and tools I need through His Word—the Bible. I only have to make the choice (which I already have) to accept Jesus into my heart and to pick up the Good Book. Through this, I am armed with God’s Shield to protect myself and my loved ones from Satan, and I have a Rock to lean on in hard times.

God  does not just not only makes me feel secure…He is my security. Just like a child depends on a blanket for security, God envelops us with His loving and strong arms to protect us. We can get that same security blanket feeling if we just depend on the rock that is always giving us protection and love.

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Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the flaws that make us what we are. We can use those to make our lives our betters if we let You show us how to deal with them. You are perfect. We are not. Your perfection is what makes You our great Protector and Father. Without you, we would be lost to the world. In Jesus name, Amen.

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

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 AlmightyEl 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 AMloves 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.