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At the Well - The All Sufficient One

Gathering At the Well


The topic for today's At the Well is God - The All Sufficient One.
One of the Hebrew names for God is El Shaddai which means: The All Sufficient God. God revealed this name to Abram along with the promise that He would multiply Abram exceedingly. Genesis 17. The obstacle was that Abram's wife Sarai was barren and could not have children. God revealed through this name that He is the one who supplies and satisfies. When we don't have what we need - strength, hope, provisions - He is the All Sufficient One who alone can provide.

I enjoyed doing a little research to learn more about this name for the Lord. This information is good to know and included valuable knowledge for me to store in my head. But there is a huge difference in head knowledge and heart knowledge. Many of us read God's Word, we know about Him and have a relationship with Him. We trust Him, obey Him, strive to live moral, holy lives and may consider ourselves "good Christians".

But do you ever find yourself "holding back"? I do. My natural personality/temperament is pretty even keeled. I don't get very emotional, don't let too much bother me, stay calm most of the time etc. There is a built in mechanism in me to guard against disappointments and hurts. During my pregnancies, I would plan in my mind that I would deliver past my due date. That way if I did go over, I wouldn't be disappointed and if I went before, it would be a pleasant surprise. I tend to not get anxious or excited about upcoming events to guard myself from any possible disappointments. I guard my emotions carefully and don't show or share my deepest feeling easily. Strange I know, but that is just me!

This part of my personality could extend into the spiritual also. It may be easy to put God into a box. With a narrow vision of God, it may be easier to do things myself instead of fully trusting that God is able to meet all my spiritual, physical, emotional needs. Like with the guarding of my emotions, there sometimes is a portion of my heart I tend to hold back.

But through God's Word and His Holy Spirit He reveals that each of us is lacking. We lack sufficiency, but He is able to provide it. We are sinful and lack forgiveness, but He provided. In fact, the more we lack, the more sufficient He is. When we acknowledge our weakness, we surrender ourselves to be filled with His strength, and He promises that His strength is not only sufficient, but is made perfect through our weakness. II Corinthians 2:19 “...My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

How freeing it is to acknowledge my weakness to Him who is able to meet my need. When I feel myself beginning to hold back, I refresh myself with a few of the names of the Lord. It is a powerful reminder that truly He is all I need:

JEHOVAH ~ "The Self-Existent One," "I AM WHO I AM" or 'I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE"

JEHOVAH-JIREH ~ "The Lord will Provide." God always provides, adequate when the times come.

JEHOVAH-ROPHE ~ "The Lord Who Heals." God heals body, soul and spirit; all levels of man's being.

JEHOVAH-M'KADDESH ~ "The Lord Who Sanctifies." "To make whole, set apart for holiness."

JEHOVAH-SHALOM ~ "The Lord Our Peace." Shalom means that kind of peace that results from being a whole person in right relationship to God and to one's fellow man.

JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU ~ "The Lord Our Righteousness".

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH ~ "The Lord is There" .

And a few more:

Adonai-Jehovah -- The Lord our Sovereign
El-Elyon -- The Lord Most High
El-Olam -- The Everlasting God
El-Shaddai -- The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People
Jehovah-Elohim -- The Eternal Creator
Jehovah-Jireh -- The Lord our Provider
Jehovah-Nissi -- The Lord our Banner
Jehovah-Sabaoth -- The Lord of Hosts
Jehovah-Rohi -- The Lord our Shepherd
Jehovah-Hoseenu -- The Lord our Maker
Jehovah-Eloheenu -- The Lord our God

When I look at Him and the power of His name, my sufficiency runs out and I am thankful that He provides and truly is: The All Sufficient One.

Some questions to ponder today:
In what areas of your life are you not allowing God to be your Soul Provider, the All-Sufficient One?
What problems do you need to hand over to Him?
Do you find yourself in a place of weakness right now?
Is your soul thirsty?
There is an answer and He is "The All Sufficient One."

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