Main Thing Podcast
This podcast encourages others to love God and people by leading them to know and follow Jesus’ truth.
Main Thing Podcast
El Shaddai — The Almighty Who Is Enough
We trace the name El Shaddai through Scripture and into daily life, asking how God’s all-sufficiency meets real weakness, grief, and unanswered prayer.
• meaning of El Shaddai as all-sufficient God
• strength perfected in weakness from 2 Corinthians 12
• grief, depression, and learning to live theology
• reordered priorities after the valley
• examining belief versus control and surrender
• trusting God’s purpose when thorns remain
Main Thing Podcast with Pastor Steve, equipping you to respond and thrive in the world we live in today. Keep the main thing the main thing has been a saying that Pastor Steve has told for decades. It means no matter what is happening around us, Jesus is what we need to have front and center in our lives. There couldn't be a more powerful reminder for us to recall in today's divisive and dark culture. From foundational truths and scripture to the hot topics of today's culture, allow this podcast to inspire and motivate you on your faith journey. All right, well, good morning, Pastor Steve. Good morning. Glad to be here with you again. Great to be here, yes. We are on episode 32, talking about El Shaddai, one of the names of God. And um, if you're just joining us, the last couple of episodes have been about the names of God. And so we're gonna dive right in. I'm gonna share a few scriptures and talk about it a little bit and then dive right into the content. El Shaddai literally means all sufficient one. And uh we see that in Genesis 17, verses 1 through 2, where God calls Abram to walk before him. And right before he calls Abram to walk before him, God says, I am God Almighty. And so um 2 Corinthians 12, 9 through 10, we see an example of this El Shaddai, this power of God. Uh Paul has a thorn in the flesh, and he begged God to remove it, but God said, My powers perfect it in weakness. And so there's this aspect of God's power working mightily through weakness. I mean, Abram, for example, he God brought him out of where he was, uh, this no man, and created and blessed a great nation through him, uh, more numerable than the stars. There's a couple of supporting verses that I think is important. Job 42, verse 2, Job declares that he knows God can do anything he wants by his own power. And then Ephesians 3, 20 through 21, Paul is talking about salvation, that it's because of God's power that salvation was brought not only to the Jews, but to all people. So we have this aspect of God's Almighty Power. So, Pastor Steve, um, why do you think God introduces himself as El Shaddai the very moment he calls Abram to himself?
SPEAKER_00:Well, the context there is um he's he's issued the covenant and um he's basically told them to forsake everything that they know and to follow him. And uh what he's saying to them is I am sufficient for the journey I'm gonna take you on. Uh you can trust me, you can believe in me, I'm gonna take care of you. You know, it's interesting. We just went through Colossians uh talking about Christ being all sufficient. Uh and it dawned on me as as I was looking at this information for this podcast. Uh, we've got so many Christians that in their mind believe God's all sufficient, but in the practice of their lifestyle, that's right. They they don't believe that. And uh that that makes me very sad because uh I think I think they're missing the sweetness of the relationship with holy God because they just can't trust him. Right, you know. Um Shaddai is the root word for mountain, and so of course, El being God, and so the God of the mountain. In the ancient world, uh they always looked up to the gods, and the Jews were no different. The gods were always believed to be in the highest place, it was a place of authority. And so uh when he says I'm El Shaddai, he's saying, I am the I am the God, I am the one of authority you know over your life.
SPEAKER_01:I I love that you connected Colossians because uh I believe it was a stat statistic you said in a recent sermon, and I can't remember if it was this the past one or if it was while you were going through Colossians, but uh a crazy statistic on how the percentage of people on medication.
SPEAKER_00:Um 25% of America is on prescriptions of psychotic drugs of the whole nation. Right. You got what 350 million people, and 25% of them are medicated.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah. And I think I think that's that's proof in the pudding to what you just said. Yes, you know, yes, that we uh so many of us think he's sufficient and think he's powerful, but it it it doesn't translate. It doesn't translate.
SPEAKER_00:No, and you and I have both seen it. Uh and both of us believe in doctors and treatments. We know there are people that that uh need that, and I believe God uses doctors and treatments as well, right? But I also I know I've seen it with my own eyes, I've seen him deliver human beings out of all kinds of situations and addictions uh when they had a powerful moment with God when they truly, totally went all in with him and submitted to him, and they walked away from whatever was destroying their life. And and it's a miracle. It's the power of God in their life. It's there, but but you've got to submit to that power.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And and it's just so easy. We've been so trained in America. Um, it started in the 80s. Uh, and look, I'm not anti-counselor, okay? Uh, because I have no problem admitting people need counseling, but counselors have a problem admitting that God can deliver and heal people. Right. Uh that's where we have an impasse. Uh they think they have the best course of treatment for people, but I don't know a person that I've ever met that was healed in counseling.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Uh all counseling does is help you manage the situation you're in. Uh it's gotta be more than that. And and the power of God is real, and I believe in it. Uh I I saw it in my own mother's life. She smoked from the time she was 13 years old. And after she got saved, she never touched another cigarette. And I remember asking her, she smoked three packs a day, dude. Wow. And I remember asking her, how do you how do you do that? She said, I just don't have a taste for them anymore. You know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Uh so I I've seen it, I can tell you so many stories. Um so please hear what I'm saying. I'm not anti-medicine, but I do believe firmly in the power of God.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. Yeah. And like I'm just thinking, as you were talking, I'm thinking of all these historical moments in the church where the power of God has been so evident. Oh my goodness. And how quickly do we forget? Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Well, I forget. I talked about it not long ago, and I forget my evangelist. Uh, it was Edwards or Finney, Finney maybe in upstate New York during the Great Awakening that God used. And when real revival happens, there are tangible results. Correct. Right? So within 200 miles radius in upstate New York, every bar closed, every brothel closed, people started treating each other with dignity and respect. When God really does enter a person's life, there is a measurable difference in how they do life. And so when I mentioned from the pulpit we're praying for revival, I'm not talking about some people getting saved in a church service.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:We want that to happen all the time. I'm talking about the family of God who say they believe in God, but not really. Yeah. You know, uh, I just read a statistic last week. Uh Lifeway did a study on youth that leave the church after high school graduation.
SPEAKER_01:This is a current, like within the last 13 years.
SPEAKER_00:Within the last few weeks, they released it. And what they learned was that the majority of the students that leave and don't come back were students that were in church and they knew the Bible stories and they attended regular and all that stuff. But they never fell in love with Jesus. Though they identified the ones that went on to stay in church after high school were the ones who literally had a personal relationship with Jesus. It wasn't about attending church, it was a personal relationship. So the difference there is the power of God in their life. Right. See? And so this is what we don't get in America right now. We're all checking the box. We're attending church, but we're not living or experiencing the power of God.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And we can't figure out why. And it's because I think the average Christian is in love with the idea of God, but they're not in love with God.
SPEAKER_01:You've said that many times in the last few months, and I don't think it could be said any better. That is the absolute truth. Yes. The idea is appealing. But when you really get down to, oh, wait a minute, that's what this means? I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready for that commitment.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. Because when, I mean, let's be honest. We we all know individuals that have uprooted their total lives, gone to the mission field, gone into the ministry, moved across the country, out of the country, uh, you know, just as a couple of examples. What would make a person do that? I I'm hard pressed to believe it's because they attended church.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You know, it's a person that has fallen in love with the savior and his power becomes transformative in their life, and they realize that they're here for a greater purpose. And then you'll hear it from church members. When we had an individual uh leave this church and go to a foreign country, I literally had probably a dozen people come up and say, uh, you got to talk her out of that. That's dangerous. She shouldn't be doing that. And I wanted to explain it to them, but I knew I couldn't. Right.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Because if you don't have that kind of experience of God's power in your life, you can't understand another person yielding to it. Right. And uh, so I just say she's gonna be all right. Yeah, you know, yeah, and uh so yeah, I I I believe in in the power of God. I do. And if I didn't, as I like to say, I'd go get a real job. Yeah, you know, that's right.
SPEAKER_01:That's right. So, Steve, when we're talking about the power of God, and we know it's all consuming, we know his power is displayed in his creation, it's displayed in us, and we see with Paul specifically in Corinthians, there's that he's he's literally begging God to take away, there's a lot of speculation as to what this thorn on the flesh is. Right. But God responds very clearly that my strength is perfected in your weakness, my power is perfected in your weakness. So has there ever been in a moment that you can recall in your life where there was a personal struggle or a weakness that you determined was a weakness and you've seen God work through that in some type of way?
SPEAKER_00:Oh my goodness, yes, many times. But I I'll give you an example. As a young pastor in my mid to late 20s, uh Jan and I lost one of our children. Uh my middle son Taylor was a twin. And um, we lost a little girl, Heather, to a malignant brain tumor. And that that's when, you know, you'll hear you'll hear me say, you and I have talked about it, you've got to live your theology. If you can't live your theology, what you believe about God, your theology is worthless. And that that forced me to step back and take a hard look at what I believed about God and being in the ministry and standing in the pulpit and telling people you can trust him. He'll take care of you, he'll bring you through the valley, the tough times, he'll deliver you. Uh, what were those just things that sounded good in the pulpit, or did I really believe them? You know? And obviously, I'm still doing it today, so I eventually came to the conclusion that I actually believe what the word of God teaches. And that's where we have a disconnect in today's church. Um, a lot of Christians don't even pick up their Bible, so they don't know what the word of God teaches, but many who read it, I'm not sure they believe it.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:See, it sounds good until you gotta live it. And so that was a very um difficult time for for me. Uh, I took a month off. Uh a friend who had a um condo in Florida uh gave us their condo for the month. Okay. And uh it was January, it was winter time, and um so I guess it was available and we appreciated and loved them so much for it. And and we just we just I'll be honest with you, we went to the beach and we sat around and stared at each other because you don't know what to say, you don't know what to think. You you want to punch a wall, but you you you know you gotta fix it if you punch it. Yeah I mean, it's just you you're you're just it is it's like being in a tornado or a whirlwind. You meet yourself coming and you're not sure what to do, what to think, what to say. But it forced me to ask myself, do I really believe in this God I've committed my life to? Do I really believe He is all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful? And my conclusion was yes. But I went through I went through a dark valley to get there. You know, I had to, and I and I I try to tell people, it's okay to ask God questions. Right. He's big enough, he can handle it, and you don't have a question he hadn't dealt with, you know. Um and and and so, you know, I there were times I screamed at God, I cursed God, I I we went we went to a very dark place. Um and then I gotta say this, when I returned, uh, my first Sunday back, they were all expecting me to resign. Which tells you a lot. Because that church assumed that that event in mine and Jan's life would be so traumatic that we couldn't continue. And they would be right if we didn't really believe in God's power.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And so I actually was offended. I mean, I had so many come up that first Sunday when the service was over and go, Oh, thank goodness we thought you were gonna resign today. And I'm like, What? You know, and I just wanted to scream at him and go, Do you really think my God's that shallow that he couldn't walk us through this valley? Yeah, see, and and look, I I don't wish it on anybody, uh, but until you've had to grapple with whether or not you really believe in the power of God or not, um you you really you really can't understand other people's struggles. You know what I'm saying? Um because once you've walked that, I call it the valley, uh through the the the muk of life, um you you really don't understand somebody else who's hurting, you know. And I'll be honest with you, I went into depression for about two years. Uh we got some people running around our church that have proudly told people, I don't understand depression, and I think, bless your heart. You know, um, if if I was as shallow as you thought I was, um, I remember the day the Lord delivered me from that depression. It was like yesterday. Um I'm driving to the next city to make a hospital visit, and I'm listening to praise music, and all of a sudden, there was a transformation in me that took place. The old people would say, it's like God took a big coat off of you. Yeah, you know, and in that moment, I knew I had been in depression. I didn't know it before that moment. Right. Everybody around me knew it because I wasn't me. See, that's what depression does, it changes your personality. Right. I wasn't me. And and so uh in that moment, uh, I was delivered from that depression. And uh, so you can't tell me God can't deliver, that He's not powerful enough to take you through the valley. I will you never convince me of that because I've lived it. So yeah, that's and there've been other times in our life, but that was probably the biggest. That's why I'm pastoring. Uh, some people think that I um I don't care sometimes, uh or I'm not interested sometimes. But when you've buried one of your children, I I don't really get too concerned on what you think the temperature in the sanctuary ought to be.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:You know, when you've buried one of your children and you want to complain about we spent too much money on doing something around the church, that stuff's so low on my radar, you know, because what happens when you when you have to test your theology and you come out the other side, you have a new appreciation of what's important. See, that's why I always say keep the main thing the main thing. All that other stuff that's secondary.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah. What I get out of that, Steve, is two things. Number one, I and you've said this before, but pastors really begin to pastor as they get older because they've experienced life. And two, the power of God is only the power of God until you actually have to experience it. That's right. That's why it becomes real.
SPEAKER_00:That's exactly right. Yeah. I remember I I grew up in a non Christian home. Okay. And got saved and surrendered to the ministry. And I'll never forget what my pastor told me. Because I lived just north of Montgomery, Alabama. There were like four colleges in the Montgomery area, right? And they're telling me I need to go to college if I'm going to preach. That's the only Reason I went. They said I had to, right? And so uh I was just gonna go to Auburn University in Montgomery. I could live at home with my parents, I could work part-time. Uh, and my pastor said you need to go to Mobile College. It was three, three and a half hours south of Montgomery. And and I said, Why do I need to do that? He said, Because you need to be in a situation where it's just you and Jesus, and he's all you got. And he was right. And so you really never, I think, are at your best usability for the kingdom until you're in a place where Jesus is all you've got, and you've got to rely on him, you know? Amen. And then you you start getting your priorities lined up correctly.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah. So I I think you just you answered the question some people may have about Paul's thorn in the flesh.
unknown:Right.
SPEAKER_01:God left it there because he wanted Paul to rely on him.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. This is this this is so important. We just want to be delivered from everything. Right. And surely God has the power to do that. He has the power to sustain us, to nourish us, uh, to house us, to take care of our finances. I don't care what it is. Uh, he has the power to do that. Uh, in my life in the ministry, and I'm in my 47th, 48th year now, I have never once asked for a pay raise. God's always taking care of me. See, because I trust him. He called me. The church didn't call me. They think they called me. Uh, they voted on me, but they didn't call me. God called me. Right. He will take care of me, and he always has. And um, so I think if we can understand that, it makes a total difference in the way we approach our daily lives.
SPEAKER_01:Amen. Amen. So, Steve, last last question is what words would you say to the church and those listening who are struggling to recognize God's power in their life? What would you say to encourage them?
SPEAKER_00:Listen, I would say you need to examine your theology, your belief system. Uh, is God a nice token for you or is he real for you? And if he's not real for you, you need to evaluate that. Are you willing to make him real for you? Because God's real, whether you commit to him or not. And uh the greatest resource you have for living your life is just what you've already said. Well, is when you submit in humility to him and live the life he has designed for you. Instead of insisting you've got to be in control.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And that doesn't mean you're gonna get rich. You might. It doesn't mean that uh you won't get sick, uh, you may be well to the day you die, and God calls you on. Uh, it don't mean you won't have a car wreck. Uh, but God uses every little thing in your life for a purpose. Uh, and you never know exactly what that purpose is. You can look back in hindsight, and and you go, oh, that's what was going on. But you never know in the moment because that's that's why it's required faith.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:See, if if you already had the answers, there's no faith involved. And the Christian relationship with Holy God is about faith, trusting him. And so Paul didn't quit ministry because he had a thorn in the flesh, he didn't quit believing in God and God's power because God didn't heal his thorn. He just trusted God had a reason.
SPEAKER_01:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:And uh moved forward. So I would say evaluate your theology. All theology is is what you think about God. Evaluate your theology. Ask yourself, do you really believe it? And then uh, what do I gotta do to exercise it? What do I gotta do different? Um, for most of us, it's a matter of refusing to continue to keep certain parts of our lives to ourselves that we want to control, and giving him all of us. And so uh most a lot of Christians do believe in God, they do believe in his power, they just don't want to submit to it. See, uh, and that's our human, that's our fallen nature, and so that's why it's so hard for us to do that.
SPEAKER_01:Amen. Amen. Well, thank you, brother. Appreciate you. Oh, my blessing. We'll see you guys on the next one.