“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

In the darkest days of my life thus far I had no physical proof that God was with me. 

It wasn’t for lack of trying to find Him, either. I looked for Him everywhere! I prayed that He would give me some sign that He hadn’t forgotten about me, but no sign came.

I had never experienced such isolation nor such a deep wilderness before, and in the end I had to choose to either turn my back on Him in despair or simply trust that God was there. 

A faith developed from an entire life lived at church, reading the Bible, and building a relationship with my good Father allowed me to choose trust, and in those dark days I was so very glad for every year, every day, every second I had spent getting to know Him. 

When my heart was breaking I knew He wouldn’t leave me, because He never had before. 

When I wrestled with darkness I knew He was fighting for me, because He had so many times before.

When the enemy threatened destruction I knew my Help was on the way, because I’m a daughter of the King and I know how my story ends. 

We should expect dark days to abound, personally and collectively, until we are all brought safely Home in The End.

Because of course our stories are all going somewhere – mine, yours, the church’s, the world’s. God is the God who is making all things new!

That’s what makes faith possible when we can’t see what God is doing: we know who He has been. We know who He is and because He’s promised what’s still to come, we can trust Him with everything in between.

The darkness may be real, but it’s not the end of the story. The wilderness may feel endless, but it’s not our final destination. The God who was faithful yesterday is still faithful today, and He’ll be faithful when He brings us Home.

Scripture begins in a Garden and ends in the Garden City of the New Jerusalem. That kind of symmetry makes my heart sing! Revelation reveals the reality that the Lamb who is the Faithful Witness reigns, and He’ll close all the loops and end the dark days. That means we can Delight in the Lord who is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, and live in hope regardless of our present circumstances! Thank you, God, for that hope. Amen.