As you know, Hagar, Sarah's handmaiden, conceived, brought forth a child, and they named him Ishmael. Abraham loved Ishmael. He wanted Ishmael to be the seed that God was talking about. Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born, and God didn't speak to him again for 13 years. Why? Because Ishmael was not the will of God. Ishmael was an act of leaning to the arm of the flesh.
Now the problem is, Abraham and Sarah could not figure out how God's promise could come to pass. And the reason being is because they only knew God in one way. Abraham did not know El Shaddai. Abraham only knew Elohim. Elohim is that wonder of God's person that we see in Genesis 1.
Elohim vs. El Shaddai
Elohim is the creator of all things. Elohim is the creator of the heavens, the universe, planet earth, man and woman, and the creator of the male and female reproductive organs. Elohim is the one who established all natural laws on this planet. Elohim is the one who upholds and preserves those laws.
That is all Abraham knew about God. So in their own mind, they were saying, "God, You're saying we're going to have a child, and it's going to be through Sarah; however, Elohim has created certain laws: a man and a woman; a sperm and an egg; and a womb that must be alive. That's the law of Elohim. You can't have a child if the womb is dead. Right?" That's natural law.
But notice when God appeared to Abraham at 99 years old, He didn't say, "I am Elohim." He introduced Himself in a way that Abraham had never known. He said, "I am El Shaddai."
Now let me define the difference between El Shaddai and Elohim: Elohim—the One who makes nature; the One who causes it to be; and the One who upholds and preserves natural laws. El Shaddai refers to the One who has the power to constrain nature and natural laws; the ability to override, prolong, reverse or accelerate the laws that Elohim created.
Let me point out something that I need to clarify so you don't misunderstand me. God will never violate spiritual law. El Shaddai will override natural law. Spiritual laws are eternal. Natural laws can be reversed only if necessary for God to fulfill something that He has promised to one of His children. If it takes the reversing, prolonging, accelerating, or overriding a natural law to fulfill something God said to you as a covenant person, then El Shaddai will do it!
Get A Revelation
You know the story how Sarah did conceive, and Abraham became known as the father of many nations. Like Abraham, when you get a revelation of El Shaddai, you'll never stagger at the promise of God again. When you get a revelation of El Shaddai, you'll consider not what natural law says nor what your circumstances say.
You will be fully persuaded. And the moment the devil says, "No way," you'll just say, "Stand back. This is a job for El Shaddai."
Maybe the reason you're staggering is because you don't have this revelation. Maybe you're not fully persuaded yet. Then you need a revelation of El Shaddai. When you get a revelation of El Shaddai, suddenly all things are possible!
Do you remember the story in John 2:1 where Jesus turned the water into wine? That was the first miracle He performed. Do you realize how long it takes from the time you plant the seed to produce the vine that produces the grapes that become the wine? In the natural, it takes two to three years. Wine takes two to three years to mature, but the best wine takes anywhere from five to six years!
John 2:9-10 says, "When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: but the servants which drew the water... And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."
The good wine! So El Shaddai accelerated a law that normally takes six years in a split second! And you're sitting there trying to figure out how is God going to provide the finances to pay your light bill? "Time's running out. God, if You don't intervene, it's going to be cut off." Hush and shout, "Looks like a job for El Shaddai." If you're under pressure and in the natural it seems impossible, then it's time for you to get a revelation of El Shaddai.
Just before the church leaves this planet, it will witness great manifestations of El Shaddai accelerating natural laws. He is on the scene right now. Some of you are under great pressure right now. You're saying, "How is it going to ever happen? Oh dear God, what are we going to do?" You're going to look to El Shaddai to accelerate, override, and speed up those laws in your behalf!
Don't give up on any seed that you've ever sown. Don't give up on the harvest from that seed. Don't give up on the hundredfold. Just face your problem right square in the eye and shout with great boldness, "This looks like a job for El Shaddai!"
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Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
