Maker of man, Creator of the whole universe--all of the mightiest of all time are nothing compared to God—El Shaddai. As the Almighty, we are outside the range of our ability to fathom as He is more powerful than we can imagine. We get glimpses of His power as we read of His dealings with men and Israel in the Old Testament. Whether he opens the earth to swallow men whole or parts the waters of the Red Sea for His children to pass on dry land, He causes those who witness the power to stand in awe of Him..
Yet, the same God that emits feelings of fear, His power, also, offers comfort to those in Christ. God can accomplish “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). The fact that such an awesome God would even take notice of us humbles us. We should find great comfort that we are His children. As much confidence as I had in my father who could fix anything that goes wrong in life, we should safely trust that our Father in heaven, who sees all, can handle whatever comes our way. He is God Almighty and is all we will ever need—El Shaddai.
The first time God reveals this as His name is when He makes His covenant with Abraham. It is the covenant name for God in the time of the patriarchs--a reminder to Abraham, and to us, that God can do anything. Not only that, but He is faithful and able to keep all of His promises. This is not a proper name for God but one of the descriptive terms used capture His nature. We are not surprised to see it used in Genesis after chapter 17 and throughout the book of Job, and it is tied to the name Yahweh that God reveals to Moses at the burning bush. El Shaddai is the term for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and is the most powerful term for God.
God’s power, however, is shown not only in dominance, but also in His matchless love when sacrificing His Son for us and in His longsuffering which far exceeds our own. His mercy endures forever and His grace far exceeds our own. He truly is all mighty.