Getting to Know God: Elohim Yakol
ThenNebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach,Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzarspake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, andAbednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which Ihave set up? Nowif ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if yeworship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burningfiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of myhands?Shadrach,Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar,we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Ifit be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burningfiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. - Daniel 3:13-18
Today's name is found in the midst of one of the most popular Bible stories of all times. Nebuchadnezzar built an idol for all the people to bow down and worship, but the three Hebrew children wouldn't bow down. They worshiped the one true God, and they weren't going to bow down to a false god, no matter the cost. When Nebuchadnezzar brought them before him, they told him, in no uncertain terms, that they would not bow. And in their declaration, we find another wonderful name of God: Elohim Yakol, which means "God the most able."
Last night in church, the pastor read Jeremiah 32:27, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Well, is it? Is there anything that God can't handle? Let's look at His track record. He created the universe and everything in it. He flooded the entire earth. He parted the Red Sea. He made the sun to stand still. He walked on water. He provided food where there was none. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He raised from the dead. He saved those of us not worthy of His great love. He is aware of everything and in control of everything. So, what do you think? Is anything too hard for God? Absolutely not. He is the God most able. He is able to do anything He wants to do.
Notice the answer of the Hebrew children. They basically told Nebuchadnezzar that God was able to deliver them, but then they went on to say, "But even if He doesn't, we're not going to bow." Jeremiah 33:3 says, Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. God said He would answer us, but He didn't say that the answer would be "yes", did He? Was God able to deliver the three Hebrew children? Absolutely. But was it His will? Obviously, it was because He did deliver them, but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood that God would work things out accordingly to His plan, and they had enough faith to be at peace with that, no matter what the results would be.
So many times, we go to God with our problems, but we lack the faith that He can/will truly meet the need. We know how we want Him to work things out, and when He doesn't come through like we expect Him too, we become discouraged and disappointed, and our faith weakens even more. We need to understand God like the three Hebrew children understood Him. God is able to solve any problem we may have. We simply need to have faith that He will work it out in His own way and have peace that His way is best. God promised to answer us, but even more than that, He promised to show us "great and mighty things" that we haven't even thought of. Sometimes, we simply ask for too little because our faith is too little.
God wants to give us great and mighty things that are beyond our understanding, and furthermore, He is able to do just that. He just needs us to get out of His way and let Him work. He knows what He's doing. He's working for our good. We have to learn to trust Him with every area of our lives, and I'll be the first one to tell you that it's not easy. But I want the faith that the three Hebrew children had. I want to stand firm and say, without a doubt in my mind, "God is able". And I want to be at peace in the knowledge that God can work out my problems without my help or my worry, and His solutions are better than anything I could ever imagine.
So, I ask you again. Is anything too hard for God? Absolutely not. He is Elohim Yakol, the God most able. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, beyond His reach or power to accomplish! And to think, He's also my best friend. How blessed am I!!!!