How long, Oh Lord?
It’s the question we’re all asking, isn’t it? How long must we walk this sin-scorched earth? How long must we wait, hearts aching for wrong to be made right?
We ask it when sickness steals our strength and tragedy takes our treasure. We ask it when evil eats our excitement and suffering shakes our certainty.
How long, Oh Lord? How long until you make all things new?
What do we do when our lament is louder than our laughter? What do we do when sorrow suffocates our singing? How long, Oh Lord? How long will you delay? How long will you tarry? When will you wipe our tears away? When will death be undone? When will the serpent crusher come?
Abraham asked these same questions. God had promised him as many descendants as stars in the sky. Years later, God had not come through on His promise. So, as many of us can surely relate, Abraham took matters into his own hands. Perhaps God had miscounted those stars. Perhaps God did not care. Perhaps He had forgotten.
In his doubt, Abraham turned to his own devices. The story that follows is no fairy tale. A maid-servant turned wife, mistreated and discarded. A child turned outcast, unwanted and abandoned.
Have you ever felt forgotten? Have you ever felt that you took the wrong turn and you hope against hope that the winding road you’re on is just a detour and not your final destination? Has God ever taken too long, so you took matters into your own hands?
God wasn’t finished with Abraham, though. Just like with us, He was working when no one was watching, sewing together the threads of setbacks, mishaps, sorrows, and failures into a magnificent tapestry of glorious grace.
Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face.
The name God Almighty has several meanings. The most popular interpretation of El Shaddai is Almighty God, which comes from the Hebrew shadad, meaning most powerful. Another interpretation comes from the Hebrew word shad, which means breast, signifying God as the one who nourishes and gives life. Rather than looking to the shad portion for meaning, we can also examine the root word dai. Dai in Hebrew means “sufficient,” or “enough.”
Putting all of this together, we see a mosaic of meaning. El Shaddai is God Almighty. He is the nourisher, the sustainer of life. He is the God who is enough and the God who suffices. God’s promise to Abraham was so much more than the promise of a child.
God’s promise was, and still is, Himself. El Shaddai would provide all that they needed because He WAS all that they needed. He was and IS enough. He is the All-Sufficient God.
This is God’s covenant-keeping name, the name He gives to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the name God uses to show that He is all-sufficient to fulfill His plan of redemption. El Shaddai made a covenant with His people, based not on their ability to be faithful to Him, but on His ability to be faithful to them.
What does Abraham do? What else could he do?
He falls on in face in worship.
God’s promise was, and still is, Himself. El Shaddai, the all-sufficient one is here. Here in your suffering. Here in your sorrow. He’s still the promise keeper. And He’s weaving all of your setbacks, sorrows, regrets, and shattered dreams into a masterpiece of mercy. He’s catching your tears. One day He’ll give them back to you, redeemed and restored. In the meantime, as you watch lights dance on trees and shepherds on bended knees, tarry in His presence. Rest in the all-sufficient, all-powerful God, who not only holds the world together but is holding you together right now.
To know God as El Shaddai is to be satisfied in his sufficiency.
Trusting in his promises.
Confident in his faithfulness.
Resting in his goodness.
Nourished by his presence.
Safe in his love.
What will we do? What else can we do?
Let’s fall on our faces in worship. He is enough. Is He enough for you?
The Question is … where are you taking matters into your own hands instead of trusting in El Shaddai? Do you believe He is enough and sufficient for what you are going through?
Comments