Two Days.
Two Names.
Hope trumps ISIS.
It is true that the horrors of this life induce all kinds of emotion: anger, fear, sadness, and defeat. I believe many were sick to their stomach’s as they read the article on social media yesterday about children in Iraq being sold for “whatever” purposes the buyer desires; I know I felt sick. ISIS is reveling in victory, so they say.
Yet I know that Victory with the capital “V” belongs to Someone else.
Two days have passed and two more Names of God were given to us at my church to study:
The Alpha & Omega and the Blessed and Only Ruler.
Alpha & Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet – a metaphorical symbol used in regard to God. This means He is the first and the last – the One from the beginning and the One who will be at the end – He is complete and He completes everything.
“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
Friends – this life is not it; there is more. The full revelation has not come yet. There is HOPE.
The Blessed and only Ruler is in control; He is sovereign and His plan will be revealed in His time.
“…which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,” 1 Timothy 6:15
This is another verse caught in midair, leaving us with the question of what this “which” is referring to…well back up in the Word and you will see in verse 14 that this refers to “the appearing of our LORD Jesus Christ.” V. 14b. God, the Blessed and only Ruler will bring about the return of Jesus in His own time.
Friends – this life is not it; there is more. The full revelation has not come yet. There is HOPE.
And this is the HOPE that trumps ISIS!
There is no justification for evil ever – in any degree or form. Yet the truth is, this life we currently live in is guaranteed to be full of evil; we cannot physically escape that. WHY, is always the question. Why does God allow these horrors to begin with! Where is He?
Be forewarned: dwelling on the WHY question can paralyze a person in anger, fear, sadness, and defeat.
Here, ISIS wins, temporarily.
However, we can spiritually escape the horrors by believing the Words of scripture and having a right understanding of who God is.
He is alive: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is,”…
He is El Shaddai: the one who blesses and helps; the Almighty.
He is complete and His plan is unfolding: “…which God will bring about in his own time…”
He is the ONE over all – sovereign: “God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords,”
In knowing this about God, we can have HOPE.
Here ISIS loses.
HOPE trumps ISIS;
HOPE trumps all the evil in this life.
The very essence and substance of the Almighty, the Alpha & Omega, and the blessed and only Ruler is HOPE.
Friends, dwell on Jesus and join me in prayer and in praise to Jesus, our LORD and Savior!
Victory, with the capital “V” belongs to Jesus!
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
Always a Song of Hope 