“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 (NIV)
I’ve recently discovered a disturbing fact. I’m not God. And while that may seem like an obvious truth, it defies much of what I was told as a child. “You can do anything you set your mind to,” “Achieve your dreams,” “All it takes is a little hard work.” I was taught that I am the god of my todays, yesterdays, and tomorrows. But it’s not true.
Very little of my life is actually within my control. I can’t undo past mistakes. I can’t control what happens to me today – if someone will crash into my car, if it’ll rain and spoil my morning run, if I catch a cold. I can’t even guarantee my future. I could die today, or get cancer, or lose my job. That’s why I’m glad Jesus is God of today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
Jesus is God of today. Whatever happens is in His hands. He is the God of how I choose to spend this day, this hour, this minute. None of my “now” belongs to me. He is God of it all. And so I don’t need to grasp and strain, strive and fear. I only need to follow, trust, and be faithful. The rest is up to him.
Jesus is God of yesterday. There’s nothing in my past that can’t be forgiven, and there’s nothing I’ve done that He can’t transform for his glory. The Jesus who made an instrument of death (the cross) into a symbol of hope and redemption, can also remake the ugly things in my past into signposts of his love and glory.
Jesus is God of tomorrow, of my hopes and dreams, and my fears. Only He can keep me safe; only He can make my dreams come true. I don’t need to cling to my own plans and dreams. Instead, I can embrace whatever he has for me.
I can do all this because he is God and I am not. Today, yesterday, forever.
ACTIVITY: Write the words TODAY, YESTERDAY, TOMORROW in columns on a piece of paper. Then, under the TODAY column, write down one character trait of Jesus that you would like to see improved in yourself today. Under the YESTERDAY column, list one past hurt, mistake, or failure that you would like to see Jesus transform for his glory. Under the TOMORROW column, list one area in which you’d like to trust him more.
2 comments:
i like your thought which you have explained beautifully. it is basically the nature of God who is present everywhere which includes our past, present and future. yet, i humbly put forward a clue that is forgotten by many in the bible."The great predestined theory of the Lord". Perhaps many do not want to know, since they do not want to change.
Thanks for your comment!
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