Day 12

I Am the Alpha and the Omega

from the I Am: Statements of Our Savior reading plan


Revelation 22:1-21, Isaiah 44:6-11, 48:12-16, Colossians 1:15-20

BY Erin Davis

Age has taught me that I don’t need a smaller view of my problems—I need a bigger view of God. Few truths comfort me more than the fact that God is infinite. He extends indefinitely in all directions; past and present, before and behind. Though the thought is truly mind boggling, Scripture is clear: He has always been.

God has no beginning, no point of origin. There was no “before” Him. There can never be an “after.” No one breathed life into His lungs, and no one can take His life from Him. “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). He is both the first and the last (Isaiah 44:6). He is “the Alpha and the Omega… the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:13). He was and He is, and is He coming again (Revelation 1:4).

Though God created time, He stands outside of it. Since my finite mind cannot grasp His expanse, I like to think of Him like a paper-towel-roll God. Go ahead, grab the empty paper towel roll from your kitchen counter to see what I mean. Hold it up. Look at it from end to end and consider this: This is God’s view of our lives.

The Alpha and Omega existed before us. He will exist long after our earthly days are done. He can effortlessly see our lives from beginning to end, like glancing through a cardboard tube. This means our infinite God stands outside of temporary troubles. There is no heartache that can outlast Him, and no hurt He wasn’t around to see.

But as vast and incomprehensible as our Creator God is, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to put on flesh and dwell with us, to die for us, and to save us from sin and death. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15–16).

A bigger view of God turns my heart toward worshiping Him. That worship often boomerangs back as peace within my own heart. Every fear and worry we will face today, every insult and besetting sin—everything is fleeting. The things of this world are already circling the drain. Our lives are just a blip on the timeline of eternity, yet each of us matters to Him, our Creator. God, in contrast, is the end-all-be-all, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Today we can rest in His goodness and constancy. We can rest in His power and His “bigness,” and that is no small thing.

Post Comments (33)

33 thoughts on "I Am the Alpha and the Omega"

  1. Gaylynne says:

    Jesus, the Alpha and Omega~ this is beyond my comprehension yet there is simplicity in the peace that comes from knowing He is present with me today. I can look at the day yet to come with confidence; stepping into plans He has for me.

  2. Carrie says:

    Revelation 22 always anchors me in the comfort that there is an Author, not only to my life but to history, and therefore a thoughtfully planned end to the story. I can barely get into a tv show anymore if there’s not some indication that the writers have the end of the story arch in mind and are moving thoughtfully toward that goal. “Show without end” always tanks eventually.

    What must it be like to look toward the future with only the impression that the world as we know it is a cosmic anomaly and human lives only a meaningless evolution in an unknown direction!? Thank you, Father, for sharing these glimpses of the future you have perfectly authored for this world!

  3. Kelly Chataine says:

    Our God is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Praise God!

    Please pray for me. Since January I have had to deal with what I call hives, for lack of a better description. Now, after three doctor visits and a full allergy test, I am still dealing with these smooth, raised, feverish, itchy, red areas. When it strikes a fingertip or my forehead it is painful. If it is a severe bout they are painful. Today, I have an area that almost wraps around my arm just below the elbow. Yesterday it was my tongue. Most of the time they show up on my upper arms, torso and the back of my thighs.

    I have thanked God for this condition and I am learning from it as well.

    Pray for relief, to find a physician that might know what it is, and for relief (oh, I said that already).

    Thanks! God is good all the time! All the time God is good!

    1. Nancy Stinson says:

      Praying for you, Kelly. At first I thought it sounded like shingles, but they don’t move from one area to another like you have described. Praying for God’s wisdom for your medical advisors and for the healing Jesus provides for us. Come, Lord Jesus.

    2. Cathy Saik says:

      Kelly, I am praying for relief, diagnosis, treatment, healing and God’s loving arms around you.

    3. Kathryn Green says:

      Consider an allergy test by a chiropractor

    4. Ashley Thomas says:

      I had a similar experience. I had to start taking Allegra at night and Zyrtec in the morning. If I don’t take them, mine come back almost immediately.

    5. Janae Young says:

      I hope you were able to find some answers. Three years ago I started having transient itching all over my body. My clothes were getting holes in them, I was itching so bad. Very long story short and after many doctors, I was diagnosed with autoimmune hashimotos. I take Plaquenil to keep the itching at bay. I’m still itchy, but probably 90% better than I was. However if I stopped Plaquenil it comes right back :( I feel for you it felt like a very difficult season in my life before I at least had some answers.

  4. Christina Gray says:

    “There is no heartache that can outlast Him, and no hurt He wasn’t around to see.” So amazing to know when facing hurt. Thank you, Erin!

  5. Angie says:

    We begin and end this study with two of my most favorite names for my Lord… I AM and Alpha and Omega. Yes, there is definitely something completely comforting in the knowledge and truth that my God, Savior, and Lord was, is, and will always be. No thing at all, nothing can or will alter or change who He is and His plan.

    This year has been filled with experiences, (by God’s plan and allowance), that put a magnifying glass to our temporal existence; the good and bad in this world we dwell, and the great need and precious blessing of a Savior. 2019 has been a year marked in painful loss, eye-opening growth, and surrender. Not bad, necessary-good, yet not easy, weighty though bound in much, much faith and trust. This year has made me keenly aware that I am powerless, finite, and limited. But, my Best Friend, the Love of my Life, my Savior and Lord-Jesus, came to earth as a man and understands my limitations, understands my heart, was, is and will always be not just enough but EVERYTHING.

    Today I ask you ladies to pray for my friend. She is a pastor’s wife and one of the most kind, gentle, good women I have ever known. Her husband has pastored his present church for 15 years, and they love the people. It is home for them. He is a true shepherd for his flock and with wisdom and courage looks for God’s good, and leads. However, when we were together a few weeks ago, he had a heaviness in his countenance that was intense. This week, and weekend, they are sharing with the church that he will be leaving the ministry. True to who God has created them to be, they are transitioning in a way that is sacrificial and both honors and glorifies God. They are completely trusting God, but this love sacrifice, like the laying of Isaac upon the alter is…(here I’ve debated on what word is “right”…heart-wrenching, tearing them apart, painful…) is hard. Will you pray with me for their peace as they trust God in this life-changing step they are taking in obedience, especially this weekend? Pray for healing on their hearts and lives. Pray for affirmation and rest in the knowledge that I AM, the great Alpha and Omega who was, is presently, and always will love, lead, and guide them, using them for his kingdom. I pray for hope and sustaining power in their hearts and lives immediately. This has been difficult to type. Tears blur my eyes and then I can’t see if the words are typed correctly. I think of my friend, whose tears are like torrential rain right now as her heart breaks and yet together with her husband, they step forward on the path they believe God has called them to.

  6. Kristen says:

    I am finally starting to realize that He is in control. He is good and He knows all thing. However, I can still find myself worrying, getting angry, or feeling anxious. I’ve been reading His Word for years, sat under many good teachings, read great devotionals, and didn’t let that change me. I’m making progress, but I need the Holy Spirit to guide me and remind me of His truth. Please forgive me, God and help me to remember that You are good, all-knowing, and in control. I don’t have to be the same. Your truth is for all. I must believe it’s for me too. Thank You for loving a sinner like me!
    This song came to me: https://youtu.be/WdUu6ZsdVfM

  7. Churchmouse says:

    Revelation 22 thrills and calms my heart. The words are majestic and specific and, above all, “faithful and true.” Believers don’t look into a future that is dark and despairing. Rather, it is bright and full of hope. This past year has been one of far too many doctor visits for three generations of our family. We are fully aware of the frailty and uncertainty of this life. We are also fully aware that our lives, indeed all of life, is in His strong and loving hands. Though He is outside time, He is also in my time, comforting, guiding and providing. Though He created the vast universe, He also dwells in me. Though His voice thundered all creation into being, He speaks in a still small voice personally to me. And I am encouraged! Revelation 22 tells me one day I will see the face of God. Imagine! Come, Lord Jesus! Amen! Come!

    1. Crystal Hill says:

      Amen

    2. Mikaela Lodahl says:

      Yes and Amen! Thank you for your faithfulness in this community and beautiful words, Churchmouse!

  8. Ruth Lund says:

    I needed this today. Thank you Erin. Looking back on a week that has been disappointing from an earthly perspective your words have helped me to step out of the ‘towel roll’ (the phrase tunnel vision springs to mind) into the vastness and wholeness of God’s plan and see that it is part of the story. My story. God’s story. And I see the importance of the weeks events shrink before my very eyes. Soon enough the problems I saw as mountains will be blown away like dust, and I will be stepping forward through my ‘towel roll’ with purpose again, and finding glimpses of my savior in nature, in other people, in everything.

    Thank you Lord that you care about me! I am seen and held and loved by you! Thank you for helping me to see that my worries about events and plans are unnecessary! Help me to focus on the good and right and true so I can live and love in the way you created me to! Amen

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