Somewhere between who you were and who you will become is where you are right now. It often feels like what you’re going through is the worst (or best) that life will ever be, but I assure you it’s not.
There is so much more!
The middle ground is a place of metamorphosis where you are consistently growing into your purpose. Right here in the middle is a place where it is easy to forget that you have yet to reach your full potential. In our humanity, we worry about what’s right in front of us, neglecting to shift our focus to see the whole picture. We must understand that there’s much more to this life than what lies before our eyes.” I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” – Revelation 1:8.
Alpha: The first letter in the Greek alphabet, answering to A, and used to denote first or beginning (Webster Dictionary 1928).
Omega: The name of the last letter of the Greek alphabet, as Alpha, A, is the first. Hence in Scripture, Alpha and omega denote the first and last, the beginning and the ending. (Webster Dictionary 1928).
God calling Himself “the Alpha and the Omega” is like calling Himself “the A to the Z” if John were writing his gospel in 2022. It doesn’t make much sense in our terms, but this ancient merism (figure of speech) communicates the Sovereignty of God. He is the first and the last. There was no one before Him, and there will never be anyone above Him. He knew our end from the beginning, long before we could ever know it. He was there at the beginning of time and will remain long after we leave this earth. He ultimately has the last say in all things.
I don’t know about you, but this gives me overwhelming peace. I have comfort in knowing that Jesus can see the big picture when I feel like my tiny world is too overwhelming. No matter the situation I face, I can rest assured knowing that He already knows the outcome and His plans for me are good! “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11.
We read of seemingly hopeless moments in scripture, but our God comes to the rescue when we’ve reached the end of our ropes. I think about the Israelites as they crossed the desert with the Egyptians on their tails. When their oppressors came after them, they saw one of two options: plunge to their death in the red sea or return to slavery. Yet a simple act of obedience from Moses made room for God to show up, parting the waters for them to cross over in safety. The Lord even caused the sea to overtake the Egyptians, defeating this enemy once and for all. Or, when God told Abraham to take his son, Isacc, up the mountain to offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, Abraham faithfully obeyed the Lord. Remember, God’s people offered animal sacrifices for forgiveness of their sins in that day.
On one occasion, God instructed Abraham to offer his own son rather than one of his livestock. He obeyed the Lord, and, at the last minute, as Abraham lifted his knife in obedience, God provided a ram for them to sacrifice, sparing Abraham’s only son, Isaac. I also think of the story of Esther where, in faith, she confronts her husband (the king), who his adviser, Haman, had deceived the king into ordering the death of all Jews. She was unsure if her boldness would lead to her demise or if the king would honor her plea. Because no one, not even his wife, was supposed to go before the king unsummoned. But God caused the king to favor Esther. He changed the king’s heart and, as a result, spared an entire generation of Israelites from certain death. I also think of Gideon, the subject of my previous teaching.
God whittled his army of 32,000 fighting men down to a mere 300. And when it was time for battle, these 300 hand-picked of the Lord were victorious over their enemy’s army of over 100,000! And these are just a few of many Bible stories I could recount that evidence God’s pattern of timely rescue. The common threads weaving each together? Faith and obedience; the two go hand-in-hand. Each one had faith to obey, and because of their obedience, God blessed them. You may be in a place where your situation feels hopeless but be encouraged and remember: the God of the Bible is the same God of today. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” – Hebrews 13:8.
God will never leave nor forsake you. He sees you right where you are, and, as Revelation 1:8 assures us, He is the beginning and the end. God knows exactly how your situation is going to end.
There is peace in knowing that God holds us in the palm of His hand, even when that feels uncomfortable. Learning this unwavering trust in Jesus builds the kind of faith that believes without seeing. This kind of faith is outlined in Hebrews 11. It’s described as “…the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen…” –Hebrews 11:1. We must trust in Jesus in the face of every uncertainty as He rebuilds us from the inside out. The more we trust Him, the more He proves Himself trustworthy, not that Jesus needs to do that. He knows our weakness, so He does this out of His great love for us.
Subsequently, the more He proves Himself, the more we trust Him! Faith builds in you as you learn to see beyond your present circumstance, whether good or bad. If only the characters we read of in the Bible could have taken a step back to see the outcome of their courageous acts. Maybe they would have been fearless in their initial approach. Perhaps that’s one thing we are supposed to learn from these ancient accounts.
These Biblical accounts teach us that God always came through for His people. So being the same yesterday, today, and forever, why wouldn’t He do the same for you now?
Like the people of these biblical accounts of old, I pray we all have the faith to trust God so completely, so wholeheartedly, that no matter what comes, we have peace. We can put the full weight of our trust in the God whose plans are not to harm us. The only Sovereign God who knows our outcome and His.
Whether life is going great or not, no matter where you find yourself today, Jesus is available to you. God is personally invested in you. His gift to us is salvation, through His Son, Jesus. And, through this salvation, we receive His perfect peace, His Prince of Peace, Jesus. It may not be easy, but God will help you fix your eyes on Him as He has the vantage point of seeing beyond all that you can. Trust Him to lead you exactly where you need to go. Call on the name of Jesus today, repent of your sins and be saved. “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” -Acts 2:21.
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