"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." - Revelation 1:8 (NKJV)

God sees the end from the beginning. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. We, however, often see the beginning of things without having the end in sight. This can cause us to view what is in front of us in less than favorable light. We begin to look at all the problems, difficulties and struggles, and if we are not careful, begin to be consumed by them. On the other hand, we may fail to count the costs and be too short sighted in our efforts. But if we could see the end of our faith as clearly as we see all the beginning of our faith we could enter into a rest assured that God is both the author and finisher of our faith. Personally, I struggle most when I have no clear cut vision for what will be finished. In fact, I have a hard time starting something I can't see first of all finished by faith.

Once, I saw a hillside in front of a house. It was a weed infested, waste of space down to the sidewalk from the front of the house. But I saw by faith a rock terraced garden full of beautiful flowers. I began work immediately in order to see what I had already seen as the finished product come to pass. I dug up the sod, tore up the hill, and made what appeared to others, a general mess. I brought in rocks, manure, and dirt. It smelled bad, looked worse and had no life in it. But I kept on. Then I planted plants, seeds, sprouts and began the patient wait of watering. All the time I kept seeing it done, while those who could only see it with their natural eyes were seriously questioning my concepts, because all they could see was what was begun, not what was going to be done. As that summer progressed, that hillside became the show place of the neighborhood. It surpassed my greatest expectations. It was full of flowers of all kinds, lush and brilliant with color. Then as others saw what was done they praised the efforts and appreciated the results. But I had to work at it when the only thing to be seen was problems, difficulties, and lots of dirt and weeds.

As people who walk by faith, we are “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. -Hebrews 12:2-3 (KJV) He endured sufferings and contradictions, but knew the end of the sacrifices he made would be joyous. It is the goodness of the Lord to reveal to us the end of things so we can endure the beginning and middle of things. We call this faith: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

What may appear impossible at first sight becomes possible through knowing what the Lord sees is the end of the matter. When the Lord reveals to us what the outcome of a matter will be before we start, we can move with confidence and assurance towards an expected end. We don’t have to be afraid of how things are going to turn out. We can be courageous and bold to do things we normally would never try to do. What we have been shown by the Lord helps us keep perspectives, stay on track, have a renewed joy when things get tough, and consistently move on to the completion of the vision.

May the Lord show you that the end of your trial, the end of your hard place, the end of your challenges, is secured in Him already. May He open the eyes of your understanding so that you may know that no matter how difficult the moment, there is an expectant and hopeful end. His plans are good and your future is secure in Jesus!