S5 Episode #14 - Jes Biondo
THE ONE WHEN JES TEACHES ABOUT EL SHADDAI
This week, Jes is flying solo and sharing a personal message about how she has recently experienced God as El Shaddai – God Almighty, All-Sufficient One, Protector, Unconditional Lover of Your Soul. We first see this name used in Genesis 17 when God once again appears to Abraham. If there was ever a time when someone needed a reminder that God is all-sufficient, it would be here! Join Jes as she dives into the passage and shares three lessons to deepen our understanding of God as El Shaddai.
LISTEN
READ
This week I want to talk about experiencing God as El Shaddai – God Almighty, All-Sufficient One, Protector, Unconditional Lover of Your Soul. This is one of the most used names of God throughout the Bible, this aspect of God’s character has been very personal to me so far this year…
On March 5 of this year, I prayed: “LORD, we are in a valley together right now. Even in the valley, your goodness and mercy follow me. I see you everywhere and I am humbled and in awe of your love and provision. You have led me to the place I did not want to go, and yet now that we are here, you are still with me and still providing.”
The week before that, Jon and I had decided to take a break in our relationship. We had been dating for about 3½ years and we felt stuck. Something needed to change, but some fears were holding us back. In hindsight, the break was the best thing we could have done, but in a moment I felt like my world had been turned upside down and the grief felt crushing. I truly believed it was the end of the relationship, and over the course of the next 3 weeks I had to lean into El Shaddai – God Almighty, All-Sufficient One, Protector, The All-Bountiful One each moment of each day just to make it through.
So naturally, this feels like a good aspect of God’s character to dig into next. :)
EL SHADDAI
Herbert Lockyer says, “What a stimulus to faith it is to know that we serve a God who is all-sufficient, and who is strong enough to overpower all obstacles, and equal to every occasion!”
In other words– there is nothing too hard for the Lord, and I clung to this promise as I sought to release my relationship and trust God to work in both of our lives for His glory.
The term of Shaddai is translated to mean Almighty, and it comes from the root word shad, meaning “breast”. The significance here shows that God is One who nourishes, nurtures, and satisfies our needs. He can quiet the restless heart, he can strengthen the weak, he has a bountiful supply of spiritual nourishment that he is longing to pour into us. When we nestle into Him, we are filled with His Spirit– He is the source of all power and strength.
ABRAHAM MEETS EL SHADDAI
We first see this name used in Genesis 17:1-8 when God once again appears to Abraham. At this point, Abraham is now 99 years old and he STILL has not had a son with his wife Sarah. If there was ever a time that someone needed a reminder that God is all-sufficient, it would be now! Let’s read the passage and dive into THREE lessons that I think can deepen our understanding of God as the Almighty, All-Sufficient One…
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers. 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram[b]; your name will be Abraham,[c] for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
Here Abraham is 99 years old. It has been about 25 years since he left Haran and first received the promises of land, seed and blessing from The Lord (Genesis 12). It has been 13 years since Abraham had taken things into his own hands and tried to fulfill the promise by having a son (Ishmael) with his wife’s servant, Hagar. It had also been 13 years since he had heard any direct words from God.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
VERSE 1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
When The Lord starts speaking, He FIRST reveals Himself at El Shaddai to Abram. THEN he instructs Abraham to walk faithfully and be blameless.
God beautifully lays the foundation by reminding Abraham who God is and who Abraham is because of who God is. This is our first key takeaway! The Enduring Word Commentary explains that God first gave “revelation and then expectation. This communicates the principle that we can only do what God expects of us when we know who He is, and we know it in a full, personal, and real way.”
So, The deeper we grow in our understanding of who God is, the more confidence we will have to walk in who we were created to be and understand what we are created to do for the Kingdom of God.
NOT FORGOTTEN
The next verse goes on to say: 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.
God reminds and reaffirms His covenant with Abraham for land, seed and blessing.
I can only imagine how these words were a balm on Abraham’s soul after 13 years of silence. What a relief it must have been to be reassured that God had not forgotten the promises that he made with Abraham nearly a quarter of a century before. As I was researching this passage, this part made my chest tighten and brought tears to my eyes… it’s happening again even now as I record. What promises of The Lord do you long for? Is there an area where you feel forgotten because it seems that God has been silent for far too long?
On March 18th, we were 3 weeks into the break and God provided a beautiful encouragement from my daily passage as I’m reading through the Bible. I had reached 1 Samuel 9:15-20 in the plan. In this chapter, God has directed Samual to anoint Saul as the first King of Israel.
The Bible says that God had told Samuel in advance that Saul would be coming the next day. Saul was out searching for his father’s 3 donkeys– little did Saul know that God had gone before him and the donkeys were already found AND God had selected him (Saul) to be king.
This blew me away. God was reminding me:
He is always working behind the scenes.
Sometimes the thing we’re looking for has already been found.
Sometimes the thing that we’re praying for is just one day away, yet we are losing heart.
God is not silent, He is not distant, He is for you.
When I wrote about this passage in my prayer journal, I had no idea that the very next day, Jon would break the silence and come back to me. I didn’t know that I was also only one day away from the answers that I had been praying for. That the thing I thought I had lost had already been found.
In Genesis 17, Abraham’s response to God is to fall on his face and worship. Abraham’s situation seemed hopeless, and yet he was able to give glory to God because Abraham knew God as El Shaddai. Nothing is too hard for God Almighty!
A NEW NAME
Next, God goes on to say 4“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5No longer will you be called Abram[b]; your name will be Abraham,[c] for I have made you a father of many nations.
God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. From “Father of Many” to “Father of Many Nations”.
When God gives you a new identity, He will up the ante. When you are in Christ, you are a new creation, you are walking in the Spirit and able to access the full authority and power of Christ. God calls you heir, righteous, chosen, His royal priesthood, redeemed, healed, masterpiece. These things are woven into our identities when we are in Christ and God can see the full picture of how He will accomplish the fullness of these names in our lives– even though it seems crazy or impossible from our limited perspective.
Throughout all of human history, God has been in the business of doing the impossible!
Journal Entry, March 15:
“‘Lord, Over and over, when the odds are not in the Israelites favor, You show yourself faithful and bring about a victory that would have been impossible without You. Please do the same in my life right now. You are sovereign, good, and faithful to provide…”
Jon and I chose to fight for our relationship and not be controlled by our fears. I’m beyond grateful for this outcome, BUT even if Jon and I decided to part ways, God would still have been sovereign, good and faithful to provide.
RIDE THE WAVE
While I was waiting on The Lord to show Jon and I what our next steps should be, I found great comfort and inspiration from a message by Jenni Allen at this year’s IF Gathering.
She shared a Surfing analogy… even when you see the wave coming, it’s easy to miss it. You have to paddle like crazy to catch and ride the wave. THIS is what the hour demands of us. Will we rise to meet it? What might God do if He got all of me?
God often moves through risk. It’s how he draws us to Him.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
What are you leaving behind? Complacency, coasting, conflict avoidance
What are you moving toward? Bold risks, who I am created to be, fearless living
What do You want me to know? “I AM with you.”
What do You want me to do? “Lean in”
God told me, “I AM WITH YOU, LEAN IN.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
I want to close today by speaking these words from Isaiah over you:
Isaiah 25:9– LORD, today I proclaim that you are my God. I am trusting in You and You will save me. I rejoice in the salvation that you bring.
Isaiah 30:18 – “For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.”
Isaiah 40:31– “But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faith.”
El Shaddai, renew our strength!
WATCH
CONNECT WITH JES
Thank you, as always, for listening! Please remember that everything we do is funded by those who benefit from our ministry. Our ministry a 501(c)3, so your contribution is tax-deductible.
Our events are centered on worship, restorative creativity, and designated time for reflection, evaluation, and setting intentions.
We help you provide a safe environment for your community to practice low-stakes creative risk-taking that will spur them in their gifting + step further into their calling. Leaders will rise up, ministries and businesses will be born, and all will find a new connection with their true identity.
Imagine what a whole community of Believers who
know who they are in Christ + understand their purpose as Kingdom cultivators can do!
Email us at info@collectedministries.org to book your own Collected Workshop or Retreat today!
CHECK THIS OUT:
The Collected Podcast is a production of Collected Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping disciples of Jesus discover and live from their true identity in Christ, recognize and walk in their divine purpose within the Kingdom of God, and experience growth in their capacity for mature, healthy relationships.
Follow us!
Jes Biondo: @jesbiondo
Jes’ Hand Lettering: @sprezzafoundry
Charitable partner: @flourishkenya
The Collected Podcast is produced by Jes Biondo and edited by Jacob Early. Cover art designed by Ben Biondo.