"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev. 1:8 NIV)  

The memory of that plane ride is one that will linger with me throughout my life. It was the summer of 1988. I normally sleep on cross-Atlantic flights. But for some reason, I couldn't sleep on that particular flight. My seat by the window became a sanctuary. I silently sat there praying and seeking God's face. I was headed to one of the spiritually darkest countries in the world - Romania.

Nicolae Ceaucescu, Romania's evil dictator, had persecuted Christians severely, and conditions were getting worse in the country. As I prayed on the plane that night, one great old hymn continued to roll over in my mind and heart - Great is thy faithfulness. A friend met me at the airport in Munich, Germany. He was concerned about me because I had traveled into the nation so often. He felt it was very possible that I would be arrested upon entering Romania. But I was very confident about my trip. The hymn had been such an encouragement to me that I didn't feel I needed to worry.

But when my train arrived at the Romanian border the next night, I was pulled off by soldiers. They surrounded me with their guns and kept me under guard all night. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know if I would ever see my family again. I didn't know if I was going to prison. I was really discouraged. But then the hymn came to my heart again. "Great is thy faithfulness. Great is thy faithfulness." I began to sing and worship God.

Eventually, I was deported from the country. The last thing the Romanian soldiers told me was, "As long as you live, you will never again place your feet on Romanian soil." My heart broke as they placed me on the train back to the West. But that same old hymn kept coming to my mind - "Great is thy faithfulness."

One year later, a revolution occurred in Romania, and Ceaucescu's evil regime was overthrown. I entered the country at the close of the revolution. I'll never forget that night when I once again placed my feet on Romanian soil. The hymn once again came back to my heart, "Great is thy faithfulness."

I realized a great truth about God that night. God knew everything that would transpire in my life. He knew about my arrest. He knew about the revolution. His plan was much greater than my plans. His ways were higher than my ways. He's eternal. He knows everything from the beginning to the end, because He existed before the beginning and He exists after the end.

That's why the Bible says that Jesus is the "Alpha and Omega." It's one of the most difficult names of God to understand. Jesus was, is and is to come. He's eternal. It's difficult to understand that name because we live in a time and space dimension. Yet, He's beyond our comprehension of time or space. Before anything existed, He did. After this world passes away, He will still be there.

He's the beginning and the end because He was there before all things and will be there after all things. It's mind boggling to try to figure that out. However, it's glorious to experience the practical application of this part of His nature. He knows what we're going through before we go through it. He was there before it took place and will be present long after our trials and victories are over. So, the next time you don't understand what's taking place in your life, just remember - "Great is thy faithfulness."