The world we live in can be a very scary place. There is so much violence, poverty and natural calamities that we wonder just what is going to happen to us in the future.
We read three times in the book of Revelation that God is the Alpha and Omega. Once in the Old Testament we read a similar phase: "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6).
What does all this mean for us? It means that the world we live in was created by God, it is still under the control of God and one day God will bring it to a place where he will create a new heavens and a new earth where there will be no more sin or death. Righteousness will be the order of the day.
So where does today's suffering and sadness fit in to this scheme of things? It is a reminder that we live in a world that is suffering the results of the terrible curse that sin has brought upon the whole world. However nothing is beyond the control of God — "He has the whole world in his hands" and one day he will show this in the glory and judgment that is yet to come.
Almighty God, while we look for that glorious future, help us to witness for you today. Amen