Devotionals by Jill Briscoe

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1

Used 2,500 times in the Old Testament, the name Elohim reveals the mighty strength of God. El is the Hebrew word for “strength,” while alah or oah means “faithfulness.” God’s faithfulness begins afresh each day (Lamentations 3:23). God is always fresh, never stale. We can depend on it!

The Bible is not a scientific textbook, but a book about faith. It does not tell us how the heavens go, but how to go to heaven. It also tells us who makes the heavens go and who upholds them “by the mighty power of his command” (Hebrews 1:3).

Elohim meets us in Genesis. In the beginning of days and nights, flowers and trees, fish and mammals, he tells us by his name that he is the Creator of all. God is strong enough to make myriad universes and faithful enough to keep them all spinning safely at the right speed.

And what does this name mean to me? It gives me confidence. It tells me that if God made the world, he can make my world spin around with a little more order than I’ve managed to create in it! It gives me something— Someone—on whom I can depend. If God is perfect faith-fulness, renewing his pledge to me morning by morning, I can go to sleep in peace evening by evening. Elohim can be known; Elohim can be trusted; Elohim is there!

For Further Study: Genesis 1:1-25

Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.

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