The Lord God Almighty, who was, is, and is to come

In Hebrews 11, it says that Enoch was commended as one who pleased God. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6). In order to please God, we must first believe that He exists and He rewards those earnestly seek Him. In believing, what kind of God do we believe exists? Our God is, as the heavenly creatures say day and night, "the Lord God Almighty, who was, is, and is to come." (Revelations 4:8).

The first phase of faith may be to believe all that God has done in the past. Often I see that nonbelievers have difficulty believing that God created heavens and earth; that God came down with a mighty hand to deliver Israel from Egypt and in the process parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could walk in between walls of sea water; that God came down in flesh through virgin Mary; that Jesus performed many miracles while on earth, including feeding five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish, raising Lazarus, Jairus's daughter, and a widow's son in Nain from the dead, and turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee; that Jesus not only died on the cross, but resurrected from the dead on the third day and ascended to heaven; and Jesus' disciples performed many miracles as well, healing the crippled and sick and raising dead people as well as proclaiming the good news of redemption through Christ. All these seemingly unusual events are often a stumbling block to those without faith. They seem to ask, "how can it be ...?" when the question should be "why can't it be ... with the Almighty God?"

Having been raised in faith, I believe in the veracity of all the miracles documented in the Bible. I have no doubt about them. But is that enough? I say NO. By that alone, it is like believing only in God who was. The Lord God that I believe in is not only One who was, but also One who is and is to come. That is, He worked not only in the past -- in the times of our forefathers of faith, but He is still working and will continue to work. He is not only Alpha, but also is Omega (Revelations 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). He is not only the Beginning, but also is the End (Revelations 21:6). He is not only the First, but also the Last (Revelations 22:13). He is both the Root and the Offspring of David (Revelations 22:16).

Having faith in the Lord God who was, is, and is to come is to believe that God not only performed all the mighty acts in th past, but that He still performs His mighty acts in my very own life right now. His mighty acts have relevance in my personal life. God who healed the crippled can and does give strength to my legs as well. God who fed the hungry and counted the hairs of peole in Jesus' times still knows that I have needs and still knows how many hairs I have on my head. God who gave out gifts of the Holy Spirit still does and I can have those gifts of the Spirit as well. He intervenes in my life and leads me to green pastures and still waters as well as through the valley of the shadow of death. He, who commissioned the apostles, gives me the same Great Commission to go and make disciples of the nations.

Above all, all that He does now in my life comes with a promise of greater things yet to come. He is God, who not only was and is, but also is to come. Our Lord will return in the same way He ascended to heaven. When He does, we will be raised into incorruptible, imperishable, honorable bodies. The promise that we have in God is not just for this present world, but for the world to come as well -- the new heaven and the new earth, where we will share in His glory for ever and ever, praising His Holy Name and rejoicing.

I believe in the Lord God Almighty, who was, is, and is to come. I believe in His mighty acts of redemption. I believe in His guidance by the Spirit. I believe in my own resurrection and the glory to come. Yes, Lord, you are the Lord, you are the I AM, who transcends time and has authority over time. You have the sovereignty over all, especially over my all. Amen.