" 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.' " (Revelation 1:8 CSB)
God is a present-tense God. A here-and-now God.
God is a present-tense God. A here-and-now God.
The One Who Is made that perfectly, profoundly clear in one of the all-great conversations in the Bible (summarized here very loosely from Exodus 3):
God: "Moses, go get my people out of slavery in Egypt."
Moses: "I'm not the right guy for the job."
God: "Don't worry about it. I'll be with you."
Moses: "What if people ask who sent me? What if they want a name? What do I tell them then?"
God: "I'll tell you what you tell them: you tell them 'I AM is His name.' "
Basically, God's answer to Moses' question, "Who am I that I should do this?" is, "Never mind who you are. This is about who I am. And who I am is I AM."
I AM. Present, ongoing, unending. God of today, of right now.
"I am your shield" (Genesis 15:1).
"I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10).
"I am keeping watch" (Zechariah 9:8).
"I am your salvation" (Psalm 35:3).
And on and on the I AM is.
Because the One Who Is is beyond time and in charge of time, He also was and will be. God balances this flawlessly...but I have a hard time with it. My natural bent is to dwell (literally, camp out or pitch my tent) in the past or worry (fret, be anxious over) the future.
The One Who Is shows me the waste of this. If I throw away today because of what happened—or didn't happen!—yesterday or because of what might happen—or not happen!—tomorrow, I forfeit the gift of right now.
"This is the day the Lord has made," the psalmist declares (Psalm 118:24). THIS. Not, "yesterday was the day the Lord made" (even though He did). Not, "tomorrow is the day the Lord will make" (even though He will, if He chooses to tarry). "This is the day."
And what are we supposed to do with "this" day? God's great instruction manual provides a response that is both intentional and uncircumstantial.
"We will," rather than "we might" or "we should."
And, "rejoice and be glad in it"—not necessarily about everything the day holds but in everything the day holds.
In this day...that the One Who Is has made...we will rejoice and be glad.
In this day...that the One Who Is has made...we will rejoice and be glad.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!