Alpha and Omega

"'I am the Alpha and the Omega,'

says the Lord God,

'who is,

and who was, 

and who is to come,

the Almighty.'"

Revelation 1:8

I gotta hurry; I'm running out of time.  If these cars don't move out of my way I'll be late for my appointment!  As I sit at the light, aggravated and annoyed, my mind goes over a perpetual list of things to do.  The day is getting away from me and I don't know if I'll be able to get everything done!  Arrrgghh. . . . 

I have to admit that I am driven by time.  I wake up at a certain time, have a goal to finish writing by a specific time, set a time for discipleship appointments, dinner is planned for the time my husband gets home and I should be in bed by a certain time in order to get enough sleep.  Time threatens to be my god.

But the Lord my God transcends all things including time.  He is greater than my schedule and can never be early or late.  He is the Creator of time and thus is not bound by it.  In fact, time bows to His Sovereignty. 

Present

It's hard to live in the here and now.  Usually I am preparing for the future, fearing what may happen, or I'm grieving over the past, overwhelmed with shame and regret over what has already happened.

This is when I need to remember that God is.  He is here now with me and there is nowhere I can go where I will be apart from Him.  When I am standing at my highest point, feeling invincible and on top of the world, He is right beside me.  When I sink to the depths of despair, weighed down with the cares of this world, He is there. (Psalm 139:7-12)  

If I can remember that my God is not a far away God who cares not for my circumstances, troubles or hurts, then I can take comfort in His constant, loving presence.  (2 Corinthians 1:3)

He is my Father who is never too busy to listen to my fears, strengthen my weak knees, and give me a word of encouragement.

The Lord my God is always with me so I can walk in peace with Him.

Past

Many of us define ourselves by our past.  I'm a drug addict.  I'm promiscuous.  I'm a failure.  I'm divorced.  I'm an abuser.  I'm a victim.  When I describe myself based on my past, I am forgetting that my God was.  He was there.  He is the God of the past.

The Lord my God is the healer of my hurts, the mender of my broken heart and the forgiver of my sins.  He is the lover of my soul.  As His child through faith in Jesus Christ, He sees not my transgressions. (Isaiah 1:18)  In fact, the blood of Jesus has so purified me from my sins that I can stand blameless before Him.  (Jude 24)  Who I was in the past as been far removed from my new identity in Christ.  (Psalm 103:12)

Consequently, I can move forward as the new creation Christ has made it possible for me to be.  I can step into this new identity as a forgiven, cherished, daughter of a loving Father.  (2 Corinthians 5:17)  I can let go of the old me, who I used to be before I knew Christ and accepted this gift of reconciliation with God.  I can stop identifying with my sinful past and start embracing my redeemed present.

The Lord my God has freed me from my past so I can walk with Him in liberty.

Future

I sat in the seat getting ready to experience a ride at an amusement park, wondering what I had gotten myself into.  I'm not a big fan of going upside down and drop-offs terrify me, but I wanted to challenge myself to push past my physical fears by going onto this roller coaster-type ride.  The trouble was, I didn't know what was about to come.  I could see the riders before me blast off and shoot through the doorway into the darkness, but I had no idea what came after that.  My near future was uncertain.

This is similar to life where I have no idea what the next moment may hold.  I may convince myself that I am in control of my life, but the reality is that it is filled with the unexpected.  Just as that roller coaster took me upside down straight out of the chute, my greatest fear could be right around the corner.

Thankfully, my God is to come.  He is the God of tomorrow and as Casting Crowns sings in Already There,  "To You my future is a memory 'cause You're already there."  He's sees all things as if they exist together.  Time does not constrain God like it does me; He can move freely through my future, presence and past.  To Him, tomorrow is already here and He knows how it will all turn out.  And more importantly, He is waiting there for me.

Therefore, I need not fear.  If the God who has the power to create, forgive, love, repair, and guide,is already where I am headed, what is there for me to fear?  As He told His chosen people when they were scattered in exile, He's the One who was there at the beginning, and is present at the end so there is no need to fear what is to come.  As He has always protected, provided and preserved, so He will continue to do so.  (Isaiah 41:4, 10)

The Lord my God is already in my future so I can walk boldly ahead with confidence.

The Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end who is and was and is to come.  Obviously, He is a mighty God.  To me as His child, this means He is with me in the here and now, giving me peace as I walk beside Him.  It also means He has domain over my past, giving me the freedom to walk forward with Him.  Finally, it means He is waiting for me in the dark unknown so I can walk boldly into my future, knowing He is already there.  Yes, my God transcends all time so I can rise above it as well.  Time is not my god: The Maker of heaven and earth is my God!  

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God with my past, presence and future.

When do I dwell in the past, or fear the future?

How am I letting my past define me?