THE ALMIGHTY

 Abraham was in a crisis! At ninety-nine years of age, he had no son, no heir to pass his wealth to. At his advanced age he was incapable of fathering children and his wife, Sarah, was barren. The crisis was compounded in Abraham’s mind by the fact that God had promised that if he would follow His direction, He would make him “the father of many nations.” Abraham had done what God had asked but there had been no fulfillment of the promise.

Twenty-four years earlier God had spoken to Abraham, “Go from your country . . . to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation” (Genesis 12:1-2, ESV). In obedience Abraham took his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot and everything they owned and stepped out in faith to follow God’s leading. They came to the land of the Canaanites and God appeared to Abraham, saying, “To your offspring I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7, ESV). Abraham responded positively to God’s word and settled down to live and worship Him in this new land.  Expectation filled his heart, for God’s word was that he would be a father and the patriarch of a great nation.

Eleven years passed and still there was no son. Sarah bore no children and both Abraham and Sarah were frustrated by the unfulfilled promise. I am sure that more than once Abraham consoled his wife, saying, “Sarah, God promised we would have a son.” But then another year would go by and still Sarah was barren, Abraham was not a father, and frustration and doubt found a place to take hold.

The frustration burst forth when Abraham said to the Lord, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir” (Genesis 15:2-3, NLT).

Not long after this Sarah had an idea. She conceived a plan to “assist” God’s promise in being fulfilled and in so doing, she made a tragic mistake. She took it upon herself to try to manipulate the promise of God coming to fruition. Sarah’s misguided idea was that Abraham would father a child by one of her servants, Hagar. Sarah seemed to think this would fulfill her desire to be a mother and would answer the apparent lack of God fulfilling His promise — but what happened is an endless tragedy. 

There is no indication that Abraham resisted the idea at all and he fathered a child by the Egyptian servant Hagar. Hagar’s pregnancy brought strife into the home and eventually Sarah persuaded Abraham to put Hagar out of the family, on her own in the wilderness. While Abraham’s impregnating Hagar was a mistake, God would have none of the disgraceful behavior of Abraham and Sarah and He caused Hagar to humbly return to Sarah and ask for forgiveness. Abraham and Hagar’s son Ishmael would become the father of the Arab nations and would be a continuing thorn and problem for the Jewish nation and the world to this day (see Genesis 16:11-12).  Such is the danger of our trying to manipulate the promises of God.

Abraham’s body was past the point of fathering children and Sarah was barren — but was the promise of God dead, as well? It was at least twenty-four years since God had initially made His promise to Abraham and there was still no fulfillment in sight. In the natural no fulfillment was possible, so it would be safe to say, “The dream, the promise, the anticipation is dead! Turn out the lights, the party’s over!”

It’s at this point of despair that God reveals Himself to Abraham in a way not seen before in Scripture. God speaks to Abraham and says, “I am Almighty God (El Shaddai); walk before me and be blameless.  And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly . . . and you shall be a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:1, 2, 4, NKJV).

The names of God reveal His nature and character to us. This is not an accidental use of the word Almighty (El Shaddai), which means, “God, all powerful and all sufficient.” God is saying clearly to Abraham and to us, “When everything seems to be impossible and there is no apparent answer for the problem you face, I am still God! I am still the Sovereign of the Universe and My promises and My Word are sure! My power is not diminished — and I have not forgotten!”

How many of you are guilty, as I have been, of getting upset and discouraged because a promise that God quickened to your heart has not come to pass yet? We will never understand His timing. That is beyond our capabilities for He is sovereign and eternal and we are not! It is not over and God is not done with you just because a promise He quickened to your heart has not yet been fulfilled! He is still God Almighty and there is no power in hell or on earth that can withstand the fulfillment of God’s Word and His promises. It will happen because the Sovereign of the Universe, El Shaddai, has said it would!

About one year after Abraham’s crisis, Isaac was born (Genesis 21:1-3). Time had passed by Abraham and Sarah but the promise of God had not!

^“You need to persevere [patient endurance] so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised” (Hebrews 10:36, NIV).