“‘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, NIV).

I greeted him in church, a father who had lost his daughter abruptly to cancer. I could not help but put my arms around him and tell him how sorry I was. Six pews down, I was surprised to see a friend who had missed church for months due to a prolonged illness that had stumped the specialists. She shared, “Two weeks ago, five of our Bible Study class came over, laid hands on me and prayed for me. I have been improving ever since.”

Recently, a pastor in our town shared with another who was going through a difficult time, “You gotta’ decide, He is or He ain’t.”

When five faithful followers of Christ prayed for my friend, and she was healed, God is. Her healing reminds me of the four men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus and dropped him through the roof. “When Jesus saw their faith…” (Mark 2:5, NIV), God is.

When my broken-hearted friend lost his daughter, God is.                     

A few years ago, I placed my hands on the daughter of another dear friend and begged God in faith to heal her. She died, and God is. If He is not, that child’s death points to an absurdity of all life, and it tears away the only hope that such a loss can someday be redeemed.

When people pray in faith, sometimes God comes in power and changes things in ways that bring them joy. God is. And, for those with equal faith, sometimes God, with a love for us as deep as the cross, says, “No.” God is.

Whether we win or lose in the things we long for, there is no purpose, no meaning or lasting good in life unless God is.

If God is, we know who He is from our experience and from the Bible at our bedside.

So, praise God, whether we win or lose in the things we long for, this world does have purpose, meaning and lasting good because God is.

We want Him when He makes our dreams come true. We must have Him when our world falls apart.

In the last days of the Alamo, the legend is told that 26-year-old Colonel William Travis drew a line in the sand. All but one stepped across the line. Those who did became heroes forever.

As Christians, when we face each serious encounter in life, there is also a line in the sand, and we must decide whether to cross it. We must choose, “He is or He ain’t.”

“True religion is betting one’s life there is a God.

—Donald Hanky

Dear God,

Let me face all things in life with the absolute confidence in your Being.

Amen