ABBA! – The Fatherhood of God (Pt. 5)

ABBA! – The Fatherhood of God (Pt. 1)

ABBA! – The Fatherhood of God (Pt. 2)

ABBA! – The Fatherhood of God (Pt. 3)

ABBA! – The Fatherhood of God (Pt. 4)

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THE ALMIGHTY FATHER

The preceding parts of this series focused more on how ABBA sees and relates with us as His children. In this final part, we would emphasize our perception of ABBA as our Father.

For any interpersonal relationship to be effective, there should be a two-way interaction between the parties involved. Every solid relationship is hinged on mutual knowledge and understanding of one another. So also, in our relationship with God. Our perception of His person plays a huge role in how we relate to Him.

El-Shaddai

God is known by several names representing different dimensions of His Person. One of such names is “El-Shaddai,” generally translated to mean “God Almighty” or “The All-Sufficient One”. God first introduced Himself by this name in Genesis 17.

Here was sir Abram; at 99, he was well stricken in age yet he had no legitimate heir. God had promised 25 years ago to give him descendants as innumerable as the stars, and he believed, even though he had every reason not to. However, in a bid to hasten the promise, he attempted to work things out on his own. This only led to some severe domestic crises.

God was refreshing His covenant with Abraham, and He began by introducing Himself as “El-Shaddai”. He made some grand promises to Abraham, and it was important that Abraham understood the capacity of the One who promised.

Nothing Too Hard

Abraham wasn’t the only one who needed to believe God’s promise of a son. But unlike Abraham, his wife, Sarah found it difficult to believe she would conceive at such an old age as prevailing conditions made it naturally impossible for any such occurrence. In fact, she laughed at the idea. Thankfully, her momentary unbelief was not enough to hinder God’s promise.

We can identify similar situations in our own lives. We may not be in need of a child just like Abraham and Sarah. Still, we sometimes find ourselves in very difficult situations that might prove impossible from a logical perspective. It may be related to our academics, finances, health, or whatever we have to do.

The good news is that ABBA doesn’t operate from a logical plane. His power and might transcend all human wisdom and understanding. The laws of nature do not bind him, and neither is he subject to it. Through the scriptures, there are several expressions of the supernatural power of God. And even in our days, such testimonies are not scarce.

In response to Sarah’s unbelief, the Lord asked Abraham a question: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14a). Of course, this question is a rhetorical one. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, testified that “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26b).

And just like Abraham, we are sometimes tempted to approach things logically and try to come up with a solution on our own. The results of such attempts are mostly chaotic. Instead of taking such risks, ABBA is inviting us to trust in His divine sufficiency. In all things, our default disposition should be to trust in the Lord with all our heart, leaning not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). The Almighty Father is always glad to show forth His glory through our lives.

I AM…

God’s people were subjected to slavery away in Egypt and were in desperate need of a deliverer. Moses was saddled with the responsibility to get them out of Egypt, but he would not go unless God gave him a name to tell the people. He feared that they would not heed to his ministry without the identity of the sender.

Interestingly, God told him to tell them, “I AM has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). From our knowledge of the English Language, we know that “I am…” is not a complete sentence, so why would God introduce Himself as such? Well, because He’s offering us a blank cheque.

God is different things to different people in different situations. He leaves the sentence “I am…” incomplete so we can decide what we want Him to be for us per time. He is a healer when we need healing, provider when we lack, deliverer when we are endangered, companion when we feel lonely, and the list goes on.

And beyond all the several roles He can assume in our lives, He is our Father at all times. He is ABBA!