Sometimes a word just resonates to my core. I know the word is for me. I know that it is meant to strike a chord and speak something over my heart. I read it over and over again. I mulled over the implications of the word. I immediately felt the deepest sense of comfort and hope.
All-Sufficient. Lacking nothing. Completely fulfilled and covered. Fully satisfying.
Those words are something I’ve searched for for so long. They were right in front of me all along. It reminds me a lot of my journey to finding that God is enough for me. If I get nothing else in this life, I get Jesus, and that is quite simply enough. And the reason that’s enough — because He is all-sufficient. Jesus made the all-sufficient sacrifice to restore us to God, our Father.
What Jesus did — that all-sufficient sacrifice — that’s what breaks chains. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, we have all been in some sort of chains at some time or another. Of course, Jesus’ sacrifice broke the chains of death, but I think many of us (specifically myself) continue to walk around with different chains and inhibiting our work for the kingdom. Chains of materialism. Chains of the American dream. Chains of addiction. Chains of bitterness. Chains of fear. Chains of pride. Chains of ignorance.
So many kinds of chains that we try to drag around. Because we think they will satisfy us. If we just get revenge on that person. If we just get a child. If we just get a spouse. If we just get that house. That car. That promotion. That drink. That drug. That pornographic website. That compliment. I could go on for days.
Interesting what God says for us to do:
“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
The Lord Almighty is WITH US. Be still — He is WITH us. The All-Sufficient One — El Shaddai — is WITH us. Of course I looked up El Shaddai — the Hebrew name for God:
EL SHADDAI (LORD GOD ALMIGHTY)
(el shad-di')
All-Sufficient One, Lord God Almighty
Use in the Bible: In the Old Testament El Shaddai occurs 7 times. El Shaddai is first used in Gen 17:1.
Strong's Reference: H7706
El Shaddai in the Septuagint: theou saddai - God Shaddai; pantokratôr (for Shaddai) - the Almighty
Meaning and Derivation: El is another name that is translated as "God" and can be used in conjunction with other words to designate various aspects of God's character. Another word much like Shaddai, and from which many believe it derived, is shad meaning "breast" in Hebrew (some other scholars believe that the name is derived from an Akkadian word Šadu, meaning "mountain," suggesting strength and power). This refers to God completely nourishing, satisfying, and supplying His people with all their needs as a mother would her child. Connected with the word for God, El, this denotes a God who freely gives nourishment and blessing, He is our sustainer.
Further references of the name El Shaddai in the Old Testament: Gen 17:1; Gen 28:3; Gen 35:11; Gen 43:14; Gen 48:3
In my research, I stumbled upon this article articulating just how sufficient our God is. Here’s a quote from the article:
“No problem, whether emotional, physical, or spiritual, is too big for our God. If we will learn to take refuge in Him and lean on Him alone for strength, then with the psalmist we can face the most extreme crises with quiet confidence, because God is with us and He is sufficient. But we would be in error if we thought that God insulates us from problems. ”
Another interesting fact that I discovered is that the majority of the uses of El Shaddai — All-Sufficient One — God Almighty is in Job. We all know the story of Job. The righteous man who was attacked by the enemy and stayed faithful to God through it all. Job referred to God as the All-Sufficient One. When he had lost everything. When he had reached the pits of despair. He served El Shaddai — God Almighty.
This rings true for me as well. No matter the dark depths that life brings my way — of my own doing or attacks of the enemy — God will be sufficient for me. All I have to do is trust Him, rely on Him, stay in His Word. God is gonna break these chains that we’ve allowed to keep us in bondage. Satan doesn’t want us to recognize God as the All-Sufficient One, because he wants to make sure we never reach our potential of impact for God’s kingdom. I won’t let the enemy win in my life.
I’m done with these chains. I want freedom. And today and every day forward I am choosing the All-Sufficient God who longs for us to come to HIm. Won’t you come?
♥︎Jenna
This blog post is a part of a series called Rediscovering God for the Write31Days challenge to write every day in October. You can find links to all posts in my series here. If you want to know more about the Write31Days challenge, you can find out more at www.write31days.com.