“Pilgrim Reflections” - “His Name is ‘El Roi, El Shaddai’”

Once we realize our need of Him and cry out to Him, He reveals His Name to us:

“El Roi, El Shaddai.”

Now, that doesn’t mean anything to a nonbeliever who never reads the Bible or goes to church.  But to a Jew, those names mean “The God Who sees me” and “God Almighty or All-Sufficient.”

Yes, “El Roi” is what Hagar called God after the Angel of the LORD after he met her by a well of water in the wilderness after she was expelled by Sarai (Genesis 16:6-13).  And, “El Shaddai” was the Name of God revealed to Abraham, Jacob and Moses at various times in their lives (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 43:14; 49:25; Exodus 6:3).

Prior to revealing Himself to Moses that way, He originally revealed Himself as “I AM WHO I AM” to Moses after his encounter with Him at the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-6, 13-14).  Thus, it’s clear the LORD God is the Covenant-keeping, never-changing Creator and Sustainer of all that is (including us).

That’s why we must continually look to Him in every situation of life: particularly in times like these when everything’s being turned upside down everywhere we look.  Yes, in an ever-changing world we need Faith in a never-changing God: for, only then, can we have “Hope as a sure-and-steadfast Anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:18-20).

It’s interesting that, shortly after Adam and Eve sinned, the world became incredibly wicked: to the point where God was ready to destroy everything and start all over (Gen. 6:1-7).  But, thankfully, humanity was spared after “Noah found Grace in the Eyes of the LORD” (v.8).

Interestingly, after God destroyed everything by a worldwide Flood—except Noah and his family inside the Ark—it wasn’t long before sin reared its ugly head once again.  Yes, Nimrod, Noah’s grandson, soon became quite evil: building the pagan cities of Nineveh and Babylon, which included the Tower of Babel (Gen. 10:8-11; 11:1-9).

So, we shouldn’t be surprised at all the evil we see around us today: because sinful, human nature never changes.  In fact, Jesus, Paul, Peter and John even talked about what would happen in the Last Days (Matthew 24:3-44; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; II Timothy 3:1-9, 12-14; 4:3-4; II Peter 2:1-3:7; Revelation 4:1-20:15).

But, thankfully, the same God Who revealed Himself to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Esther, Ruth, David, the prophets, etc., later revealed Himself in a most miraculous way when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  And, when one of His disciples named Philip said “Show us the Father and it satisfies us,” Jesus said “He Who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

In other words, the same God Who revealed Himself in various ways in the Old Testament (e.g., a burning bush, talking donkey, dreams/visions, angelic visitations, prophetic utterances, etc.) decided to give a full-blown Revelation of Himself (Hebrews 1:1-3).

And, that’s why we shouldn’t be afraid in these Last Days: because “God is faithful” and is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (I Corinthians 10:13; Heb. 13:8).  In other words, as James said, “There’s no shadow of turning in Him, i.e., that He’s going to be one way today and another way tomorrow” (James 1:17).

So, as Jesus said, “Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You believe in God, believe also in Me” (Jn. 1:1, 14).  He pointed to the fowls of the air and flowers of the field and said “If God takes care of them—which He does—then He’ll also take care of you: because you’re much more valuable than them” (Mt. 6:25-31).  Hallelujah!!

Yes, God—the Great I AM WHO I AM, El Roi/El Shaddai God—is truly a “tear-catching, sparrow-watching, hair-counting God” Who loves us very, very much (Psalm 56:8; 139:1-18; Mt. 6:26; 10:29-31).

So, look to Him now and always: for He always hears the slightest whimper or whisper, especially when we’re “reeling to-and-fro and are staggering like a drunken man who’s at his wit’s end” (Ps. 107:27):

All because His middle Name is “Faithful” and He cannot/will not ever lie (I Corinthians 10:13; Heb. 6:17-18).  Amen and amen.  Thank You, Jesus.

          (NOTE:  If you’d like to contact Bro. Tom or receive his daily devotional, entitled “Morning Manna,” you can e-mail him at pressingon@hotmail.com).