The Names of God: Almighty

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.’ ” (Genesis 17:1, NIV)

God was getting ready to do something amazing in Abram’s life. He was going to make a great nation from Abram’s descendants. The only problem was that Abram had no descendants. He and his wife were almost one hundred years old, and they had no children. That may explain why the Lord introduced himself to Abram as God Almighty. He was assuring Abram that he had all the might he needed to accomplish his plans—no matter how impossible they seemed.

Here are additional verses that identify God as Almighty:

"May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples." (Genesis 28:3, NIV)

"I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty." (Exodus 6:3, NIV)

"David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45, NIV)

"And he became more and more powerful, because the LordGod Almighty was with him." (2 Samuel 5:10, NIV)
"The Lord Almighty is with us." (Psalm 46:7, NIV)

"Who is like you, Lord God Almighty? You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you." (Psalm 89:8, NIV)

" Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1, NIV)

The good news for believers is that God has lost none of his might. He is still able to do all that he wills.

The above article was adapted from the Encountering God Devotional Bible, which my team created for Zondervan.