“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!”

Revelation 4:8b ESV

The Lord was, the Lord is, and the Lord is coming again.

Do you believe this? Don’t be quick to answer yes. We often respond too quickly to queries that require deep introspection.

The LORD was.

The Lord existed before time and space. Before God formed the earth we live on, He was. It is a concept that is difficult for our human minds to grasp and impossible to understand in its fullness. You may believe there was a God who created everything but then left us on our own. Do you see Him as unapproachable and far off, overseeing things from a distance and not concerned with life on earth? We need to read the Old Testament (OT) and remind ourselves of the God who parted the seas, provided for millions miraculously for 40 years, and repeatedly rescued His people from their own folly. In the New Testament (NT), we read of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, who came and lived in human form, suffered and died out of a deep love for the world. This was not a distant God but one who intimately cared about His children.

So maybe you can accept He WAS.

The LORD is.

The Lord is with us right now. He repeatedly promised in the OT (Deut. 31:6, Isaiah 42:16), and NT (Hebrews 13:5, Matt. 28:20) that He would never leave us or forsake us. Do we believe this in our day-to-day lives? Or do we go along believing we have to do life on our own? We look around at the world and ask, “Where is He?”. We see only hunger or obesity, poverty or ridiculous, mind-boggling wealth. Our leaders lack moral character and are only out for power and money and the weak and imperfect are something to be discarded or hidden.

It’s a self-focused, self-absorbed society. Nature itself is out of control, it appears. Massive earthquakes, hurricanes miles wide, tornadoes destroying whole towns, fires ravishing acres of trees and anything or anyone caught in its path. There are countless diseases, pandemics and death. He is? Where?

We don’t have the spiritual eyes to see what is surrounding us. There is a battle going on. But if we open our hearts and minds, we will experience and know His presence in our souls. God is still in control, even if we don’t understand His ways.

The LORD is to come. 

He has promised over and over in Scripture that He is coming back. Jesus will return the way He came, and EVERY knee will bow and acknowledge His majesty and glory.

Are we living our lives in expectation of this? Do we stop and think of what Christ would see in our lives if He returned today? How would you feel, and respond? The Lord told us His return would come “like a thief in the night.” After all, who saw the Covid-19 pandemic coming? Who expected to be quarantined in our homes or that toilet paper would become a hot commodity? Intellectually we may think it’s possible, but it has been 2000 years since Jesus Christ walked the earth! He may come again, but probably not in my lifetime, so what does it matter? We don’t know the hour or the day, but He expects us to believe and live prepared.

In Exodus 3, Moses meets the LORD at Mount Horeb and asks for His name. In verse 14, God answers, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites; I AM has sent me to you.”

The LORD was, is and is to come. He is the great I AM who is more than we can imagine.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” Psalm 139:6.

‘It is humbling to discover that our human common sense is so mistaken so often in such important matters. But it is a healthy discovery to make, for then we face the fact that God made us with limited sense, needing His counsel, needing His Star in the dark night of life, to guide us to the Truth.’ Mrs. Harriett Thatcher, Streams in the Desert.

So how do we grasp this truth and absorb it deep into our core?

Remind ourselves. Read His Word to remember how faithful He has been to those who love and follow Him. Remember how He has been faithful to us in our lives and thank Him.

Pray for awareness that what we can see, taste and touch is not everything. As C. S. Lewis put it, we have never met a mortal person. We are all immortal beings. Hebrews 12:5 tells us, “we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses”, angels and saints who have gone before us and are fighting for us. I suggest reading 2 Kings 6:17.

Memorize verses that speak to us about His constant presence in our lives. When we have the Word in our minds, no one can take it from us. It is always there to remind and comfort us.

Dwell on what we have heard and read all throughout our day. Ask ourselves, “Is this what would please the Lord if he returned right now?”

We need to live in constant awareness of the Lord’s presence and His power. We are never alone in our battles and struggles, or our victories and blessings. Let me say it again: NEVER ALONE!

Lord, I pray that my sisters who read this will sense your presence in a tangible way today. Open our eyes to an awareness of the spiritual army surrounding us who are battling with us. I pray that we would be drinking from the eternal spring of your Word and feeding our souls with your promises. Amen.

Be well!

Patricia