Devotion to God Almighty
Friday, January 27th, 2012Genesis 17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be devout.
God appears to Abram to let him know that even though he is an old man, God is not finished with him. God did not say that His good work in us will be performed until we are old and feeble, but that His good work in us will be carried “on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (see Philippians 1:6). To give Abram the confidence that God is able to do what He says He will do, God reveals a new name for Himself, God Almighty, which in Hebrew is “El Shaddai.”
The word “el” speaks of the right arm, and signifies strength. The word “Shaddai” refers to a woman’s “breast,” speaking of nourishment. God is telling Abram that He is the God Who guides us with His strong, right hand as He holds us close to Him and nourishes us as a mother does her baby. Wow! The idea we get from this is God telling Abram that even though he is at the end of his resources, God is just at the beginning of His resources. He is God Almighty! What great comfort we get from this.
God is almighty and will do everything He said He would do. Now He tells Abram what He expects from him. Abram is to live “in My presence and be devout.” Most translations put this as “living in God’s presence and be blameless.” The word for “blameless” means to be whole, or complete. It speaks of devotion. We get the picture of devotion in the sports world. Many fans of sports teams are devoted to their team. In fact, we call them fanatical. This is what God is telling Abram he needs to be. God wants us to be fanatical about Him. This means we are to be “sold-out.” We are to be committed, focused with single-mindedness. We do not stray and “change teams.” He is what we are to live for, to love, to follow, to study and know everything we can know about Him. Fans do this for their team, and we should do the same thing for God.
This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37)” This means that since we love God with our entire being, we also give ourselves to Him to use as He pleases. In other words, we no longer live for ourselves, but die to self so that we can live for God. The apostle Paul said it this way, “I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1)”
Remember, we cannot do this with our own strength, but it is possible when we allow God to lead us with His strength, as He keeps us close to Him and nourishes us. He is “El Shaddai,” God Almighty!
In HIS grace
