“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
El Shadday means “The All-Sufficient One.” To be sufficient means to be the adequate supply of what is needed. God is a creator that extended Himself in His creation. What exists, exists as an appendage of His life, like an arm to a body or a branch to a tree. We weren’t created as a separate, stand-alone, creation. Like an arm receives life through blood vessels and nerves, we are attached to God as our source. He is our sufficiency – our life, our supply, our nourishment, and our sustainer.
Apart from God, our sufficiency, we become deficient. I think of a baby in its mother’s womb. The baby never experiences lack because the baby in utero is attached to his or her mother by an umbilical cord. When the baby is born, it is detached from his or her mother, and begins to experience need – need for food, need for comfort, need for warmth, and a need for love. The mother is the one who becomes the supply for her child’s nourishment. When she nurses her infant, the baby is not only being fed; but also is being comforted, protected, and loved. The baby has an innate desire to find satisfaction in nursing at his or her mother’s breast.
Interesting, Shadday, also spelled Shaddai, comes from two Hebrew words. Shad meaning “breasts” and day meaning “sufficient.” As the all-sufficient One, God completely nourishes, satisfies, and supplies His people with all they need as a mother would her nursing infant child. As a baby longs not only to be nourished, but to be comforted by the nearness of his or her mother, God’s presence will not only supply, but will satisfy our longing for Him. Genesis 49:25 “By the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty (El Shadday) who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.”
Not only is God sufficient in nourishment; but also He is sufficient in power. He is the Almighty. He has all power to perform what is necessary for you and through you. In Him, we receive strength to produce. We are blessed in order to expand or take new territory. We receive life to accomplish a purpose. Several times El Shadday is used in correlation with being fruitful or being multiplied. Through Him, you can produce results and accomplish great things! God is our power source; He is the “All Mighty.”
Application: Like a branch to a tree, you are not just leaning on God; you are IN Him through Christ. Recognize your source, and do great things!