What does it mean that God is Almighty? Merriam Webster defines almighty as having absolute power over all, relatively unlimited in power or having or regarded as having great power or importance. Think about that as you contemplate God as Almighty.
Genesis 17:1-5 reads,
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, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
God used His name El Shaddai, God Almighty to speak to Abraham and confirm His covenant. It is the same name used in Job thirty one times. What that means for you and me is that God is big enough and strong enough to keep His Word to us. He is great enough to carry us through all of our suffering. Job 22:21-27 reads,
“Agree with God, and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;
if you remove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in the dust,
and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty
and lift up your face to God.
27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.
God Almighty keeps His covenant with us. What is God’s covenant with the Believer? Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes it.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
His law is written on our hearts. He is our God and we are His people. We know Him personally. That personal knowledge of God comes from His gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell and seal us. He teaches us day by day to be perfected to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:22-24). Our sin is forgiven and God chooses not to remember it. That is pretty awesome! The covenant is by the blood of Jesus our Savior (Luke 22:20). The New Covenant gives us eternal life (Hebrews 9:15). How do we receive the gift of salvation and take part in God’s covenant with us? Romans 10:9 answers that question for us.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Because God is Almighty, we can trust that He will hold our salvation for us, protect us and bring us through life on this earth to The Day of the LORD and eternity.
Psalm 138:7-8 says,
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Philippians 1:6-11 reads,
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
We need that promise because being a believer in a world of nonbelievers is not easy. We are called to be separate and holy and not of the world (John 17:16). But because our Lord is the LORD, because He is El Shaddai we can lean on Him and know He brings us through the world and keeps us blameless if we allow Him to do so. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 reads,
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Because God is Almighty, He has the whole plan in His hands. He is the Creator. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He has eternity in His words and victory is as good as done. We look forward to the Day of the LORD with hope and joy even in the midst of our struggles. Revelation 1:7-8 reads,
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Believer, I know you suffer. I know you get tired sometimes. I know it gets tough. Just hold onto God. Remember He is Almighty. His power is immeasurable and unlimited. Though we may be exhausted, He is inexhaustible. Hebrews 12:1-8 encourages us.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Believer remember with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Remember too that whatever struggle you are going through or whatever blessings you enjoy, your salvation is safe and you can make it through with Christ because He strengthens you Philippians 4:11-13 says,
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Believer, I pray that you rest in God’s hands today. Lean on the Lord. Trust in His might. I pray that whatever you are suffering through will be resolved soon. I ask the Lord that you will be a comfort to many, a light to the world, and that you will glorify Him in all you do. Amen.