EL SHADDAI

 
 
   

God is the Almighty.  In this world the “super heroes” only live in comic books.  There are no men “faster than a speeding locomotive,” or who are “able to leap over buildings in a single bound.”  As children, we wished there were. If there were, we would elect them to be our Presidents.   Even adults told tales of Paul Bunyan, and Robin Hood who were larger than any problem that came their way.  Growing up we had Gene Autry and Roy Rogers who “always” got the bad guy. 

 When I grew up one night in a rice paddy in Vietnam some years ago, it dawned on me that we don’t always get the bad guys in this world, and there are no super heroes.  Then I met the Almighty.  Then I found the power of God in the gentleness of Jesus who shook off death and arose from the grave, Triumphant.  Keep your comic books. I found a better book.  It is more real and more colorful, and in it I learn that good always wins in the end. 

 I started thinking about this when I read something recently about the Tasmania devil which is a “nasty” little critter with a very bad temper.  I wondered why.  I would venture a guess as to why they and so many of us sinners are ill tempered and act so poorly.  I was amazed to learn that when these marsupials arrive in this world they often come as many as sixteen at a time.  They grow inside their mother’s pouch which comes equipped with four teats.  That’s right, “four” spigots for sixteen critters.  Darwin would say this presents a challenge.  Others might say it presents a chance.  No matter how you look at it, politeness and patience are not strong points for the survivors.  It’s every Tasmanian devil for himself.  No wonder they are such “nasty” little creatures.  You can notice this “nastiness” also in humans too whenever there is a severe gas shortage.

El Shaddai, not only means “Almighty,” it also means the “many breasted one.”  When someone discovers El Shaddai, they have found that there is “enough.” There is enough for everyone.  There is no need to push.  There is no need to steal.  There is no need to kill.  Covetousness is not necessary.  Paul discovered God in Christ.  He put it this way:  “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).  Relax, there is enough. 

 Had someone dropped a single pallet of drinking water at the Super Dome there would have been many more casualties than there were.  Some are now talking about the “haves” and the “have-nots.”  Some have been known to joke about the “haves and the have-mores.”  I wish everyone could see, that God is El Shaddai, and that whoever finds Him, finds all they need. 

 

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