God Is Enough

Vol 2 No 41 THEO'S DEVOS

Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.”

I don't know about you but I have come to a conclusion about my life. I have not always made the best decisions and have a hard time trusting my instincts. Now many of you may not have that problem but I would bet that most of you would admit that all of your decisions in life have not been the best. It is those times when you have made a less than the best decision that you wish you could go back and get a second shot. That is the problem with being human. We rarely have all the information we need when making life decisions but they have to be made anyway. Someone in the marital counseling field made quoted an unhappily married woman: “I married an ideal, I got an ordeal and now I want a new deal.” There are way too many people who feel that way but marriage is just one of the decisions that have to be made before we know exactly what we are getting into.

Abram had learned that by the time this verse was written. He knew that he was not the best at making decisions when God spoke to him and revealed an important aspect belonging to God alone. He told Abram that He was “ God Almighty.” El Shaddai which means: 'the God who is sufficient.' What that boils down to is that God is enough. You really don't need anything more when you have God. God is sufficient in all areas of your life but you may not have been living as though that were the truth. You may have been making decisions, for instance, without even consulting Him. This is one of our major malfunctions. We say we are Christians. We believe all the right things but we often live as though we were atheists. We live as though God had no real interest in us and must not think that He acts in our lives. So why pray? Why include God? Isn't that sort of like talking to ourselves? Well Abram may have lived like that for some time but by the time Genesis 17 was written he was ready to learn a crucial fact about his God.

This is the kind of thing that the Bible can teach us and that we need to learn as soon as possible. The Pennsylvania dutch say that we are “Too soon old and too late smart.” That is true across the board but it is tragic in the life of a Christian. Wouldn't it have been great if we all had put to practice things we learned from the Bible the minute we learned them? Well it isn't too late as long as you are breathing. Understand that God has given you a mind and wants you to use it but He doesn't want you to trust it without considering Him and His plan for your life. God is sufficient for you. He is enough. You can trust Him and you will never regret talking to Him and following His guidance. He wants the best for you and you have not always given the best to yourself.

So what happens when you finally realize that God is enough for your life. You will serve Him faithfully and you will live a blameless life. Does that mean that you will be perfect? Well that would be nice but it isn't going to happen as long as you are alive. John tells us that 'if we say we are without sin, we are lying.' So what does it mean then? The base meaning of the word blameless, or perfect as some translations put it, is 'wholehearted.' Live wholeheartedly. Put you whole heart into what you are doing. Don't live a half hearted life. Whatever you do, do it all out. Oftentimes sin creeps in when we are living as though our lives don't mean much so it doesn't matter how we live. This is not true. Our lives have meaning that impacts eternity. What you do in this life has an effect on eternity. You are being prepared for an eternal life with God. Live each day as though it counted for something beyond yourself. Serve a greater goal than the mundane. Walk with God and let Him be your guide.

El Shaddai walks with you. Every day. All the time. He loves you. He will never let you down. He cares about your life and loves it when you talk to Him. May you be greatly blessed by the All Sufficient One today. I am praying for you to that extent. God bless you.

Theo