RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

“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)
The memory of that plane ride in the summer of 1988 will linger with me throughout my life. I normally sleep on cross-Atlantic flights. But for some reason on that particular flight, I couldn’t sleep. 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 world’s spiritually darkest countries : Romania.
Nicolae Ceaucescu, Romania’s evil dictator, had persecuted Christians severely and conditions in the country were getting worse. 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 because I had traveled into Romania so often. He felt it was possible I would be arrested upon entering. But I was very confident about my trip. The hymn had been such an encouragement, I felt no need to worry.
But the next night when my train arrived at the Romanian border, 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. Then the hymn again came to my heart. “Great is Thy faithfulness. Great is Thy faithfulness.” I began to sing and worship God.
Eventually I was deported. The last thing the Romanian soldiers told me was, “As long as you live, you will never again place your feet on Romanian soil.” As they placed me on the train back to the West, my heart broke. 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 the night I once again placed my feet on Romanian soil. The hymn came back to my heart: “Great Is Thy faithfulness.”
That night I realized a great truth about God. He 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 will exist after the end.
That’s why the Bible says 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. Because we live in time and space, it’s difficult to understand that name. Jesus is 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 He will be there after all things. It’s mind boggling to try to figure that out. But 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 He will be present long after our trials and victories are over. The next time you don’t understand what’s taking place in your life, just remember: “Great is Thy faithfulness.”