Revelation 1:8 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” ESV
Might not mean much to you, but today I noticed what the Lord says about Himself: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” I thought, now wait a minute I thought He was and is and is to come – but no, He is, and was, and is to come. He says this, once in 1.8 and John said the same thing in 1.4. The angelic beings in chapter four say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” It’s a subtle thing but it caught my attention.
Who is the Lord? Well, for sure He is right now; for Him there isn’t an ago, or a ‘to come’ for He is, and always is. Who is God: God is. But God also was – there isn’t a time in our present when God wasn’t; He’s always been. And He also will be; forever, He will be. But I think in our present moments, it’s more important to have a God who is. To the angelic beings, eternal in their own way, they would tell us, He was, and is, and is to come – because He is the One who gives them eternity and they see Him differently than we do. For them, there is no need for a God Now because for them they know no different – to them it’s always now.
We however, need a God who is. In all of our timeliness or un-timeliness we need a God who identifies with us right now, not then (either past or future). I need a God right now – I need God right now. For me, He is first and foremost and that is the way I need to live my life; and the way I must approach my life. What’s done is done and what isn’t yet, is yet to come. My past is slipping away every moment; and my future is always just one moment away. I need God right now because right now is all I have.
As I look back on 2010 I think about all the real time I have wasted either regretting my past, or worrying about my future. Through every one of those futile moments God has gently and lovingly been nudging me toward right now – Paul, the past is done and the future is yet to come – I am the God of your right now – live with Me right now.
Father in Heaven,
You are the God of right now and I pray to live in the right now. I thank You that You are first and foremost Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come. Amen.
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