The very name means mighty, strong, powerful. When God chose to reveal Himself, he displayed His power. When God decided to invent humanity, He did so through the demonstration of unequivocal power. When God initiated human life, He did so as the Sovereign ruler of the universe. From Genesis 1:1 to 2:4, Elohim is used 35 times to describe God. Though other names come later, Elohim stands alone in these verses as the descriptive name of God. He is omnipotent.

The towering tree—God’s power displayed. The rush of the ocean tide—the power of God. A bird in flight—God’s power. A giraffe stretching his neck into the trees, an eagle soaring over the mountaintops, a form of a man lying lifeless on the ground until God breathes into him—God’s power. He is the omnipotent Elohim. He is the creator God.

And He is your creator. That’s right. He created you. The God who flung the stars into space designed you. The God who spoke worlds into existence speaks into the meager existence of your life. You may think He has forgotten you, that He has gone on a long journey, that you are out of His reach. He is omnipotent—the almighty God. He hasn’t gone anywhere.

Your greatest challenge doesn’t catch Him by surprise. Your deepest worry causes God to lose no sleep. Your secret fear is His public domain. He is God. If He can take nothing and make something incredible, He can take the mess of your life and create something beautiful.

Elohim—who watches the woman created for Adam listen to a serpent in tree limbs. He created the serpent—yet loved Eve enough to allow her to make her own choice. Elohim—who came walking in the garden, searching for Adam and Eve. Elohim, repulsed at the behavior of Noah’s generation. Though His wrath is stirred, his heart is moved with compassion. The boat leads His creation to safety—and reestablishes the line of descent from Adam. In the name Elohim is not only power, but covenant love. The rainbow—a physical demonstration of a loving God. Time and again, Elohim remembers His covenant and declines to administer total punishment to His people. Though He possesses the power to speak them out of existence with a word, He takes great pain in establishing His people through the spoken word. He is Elohim.

What ails you? What dominates your thinking, haunts your dreams? Perhaps it is someone. That boss you just can’t please. Your husband whose left you—again. Your children. You’ve prayed for them and God seems conspicuously absent. Answers are few—questions unending. The hurt in your heart is camouflaged by the smile on your face. God sees deep into your heart, to the very source of the problem. He knows the broken dreams, the unrealized goals.