Day 23: 

The Alpha and Omega

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Revelation 22:13 (KJV)

Morning Devotion

Life has a funny way of circling back.

We start with wonder, stumble through questions, and sooner or later realize that everything that begins and ends somehow traces its way through the hands of God.

Jesus did not just say He was at the beginning and the end. He said, “I am Alpha and Omega.”

That means the story starts with Him, runs through Him, and wraps up in Him.

Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega is the last. Jesus holds every letter in between, every chapter of your life, every sentence of your story, every comma and question mark you have ever faced.

Nothing starts without His permission, and nothing ends without His purpose.

A Porch Story

I remember sitting on the porch one evening with an old friend who had just retired.

He had one of those faraway looks, the kind that sees both backward and forward at the same time.

“I thought retirement would feel like finishing the book,” he said, “but it is more like closing a chapter and realizing the story keeps going.”

He leaned back, took a slow sip of sweet tea, and grinned. “I guess the Author is not done writing yet.”

We both laughed, but there was deep truth in his words.

Every ending is just a prelude in the hands of the Alpha and Omega.

That conversation stuck with me, because we live most of life in the middle, between what God started and what He is still completing. If you do not learn to trust Him in the middle, you will spend your whole story anxious about the next page.

The Alpha wrote your beginning with intention.

The Omega already holds your ending in glory.

So you can rest easy in the middle, knowing the Author is still holding the pen.

The God of the Middle Pages

When life feels uncertain, we tend to grab the pen from God’s hand and start editing.

We underline the good parts, scratch out the painful ones, and try to rewrite the story our way.

But the truth is, the middle is where most of life unfolds, the ordinary Tuesdays, the in between prayers, the waiting seasons. It is in those middle pages that God does His best work.

He turns commas into grace pauses, question marks into faith builders, and periods into resurrection points.

If you are in a middle chapter right now, hold on. The story is not over. The Alpha who began a good work in you will see it through to the end (Philippians 1:6).

A Little Porch-side Theology

Jesus does not just bookend history. He owns every paragraph.

The same hands that shaped Eden are writing your present moment.

When the first word was spoken, “Let there be light,” Jesus was there.

When the final word is declared, “It is finished,” He will still be there.

In between those two moments, He walks with us through every valley, victory, heartbreak, and hallelujah.

He is the God of Genesis and Revelation, and of every page in between called your life.

Life Application

Take a few minutes today to look back over your life like you are rereading a familiar book.

Notice how many times God has shown up, how He wove purpose through pain, turned detours into direction, and used even delays to develop you.

Then write this in your journal:

“Alpha started this. Omega will finish it. I will trust Him with the middle.”

The next time something feels out of control, whisper that truth under your breath. It is amazing how peace grows when you stop trying to edit what the Author is already perfecting.

Prayer

Alpha and Omega,

Thank You for being the first and the last word over my life.

You started my story with purpose and promise,

and You will finish it with glory and grace.

Teach me to trust You in the middle,

when I cannot see the next chapter,

when I am tempted to take the pen,

when the waiting feels long.

Remind me that You are not pacing the porch in worry.

You are seated on the throne in victory.

Write what brings You glory,

and give me the faith to read it with gratitude.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection Question / Journal Prompt

What “middle chapter” are you living in right now?

Is it a season of waiting, rebuilding, or wondering?

Write this in your journal:

“Lord, help me make peace with the middle.”

Then jot down three moments from your past where you clearly saw God’s hand guiding the story. Revisit those memories when you need proof that the Author has not stopped writing.

Evening Reflection

The porch is quiet tonight. The crickets sing their evening song, and the moon climbs slowly above the trees. It is the perfect reminder that even when the day ends, the story keeps going.

Jesus is still the Alpha, faithful in beginnings. He is still the Omega, victorious in endings. He is still present in the middle, the steady grace between sunrise and sunset.

Before you turn in tonight, take a deep breath and whisper, “You have the first word, Lord, and You will have the last.”

Rest there.

When you know who holds the bookends, you do not have to fear the chapters in between.

The Alpha already wrote mercy into your mornings. The Omega already sealed hope into your endings. In between, right here, right now, He is writing redemption in real time.

So close the day with peace, knowing that your life is not a random series of sentences. It is a masterpiece being edited by the hands of eternity.

Sleep well, friend.

The Author is still awake.

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Some days you don’t feel broken.

You just feel tired.

Not in crisis—just worn thin.

You’re still showing up, still doing what needs to be done, but deep down you know something’s missing.

Jesus spoke right into that place when He said in John 15:5,

“I am the vine, ye are the branches… for without me ye can do nothing.”

Notice He didn’t say you will struggle a little without Me.

He said nothing.

Not nothing as in useless—but nothing that truly lasts. Nothing that truly bears fruit.

Branches don’t strain.

They don’t grind.

They don’t hustle to produce fruit.

They simply stay connected.

Most of us don’t burn out because we don’t love God.

We burn out because we try to live the Christian life for Christ instead of from Christ.

Abiding isn’t about doing more.

It’s about staying close.

Letting His life flow into yours.

Letting His strength carry what your strength can’t.

Fruit comes naturally when connection comes first.

So today, if you feel dry, weary, or stretched beyond yourself, don’t try harder.

Draw nearer.

Sit with Him.

Talk to Him.

Stay attached.

Because the same Jesus who said, “Without Me you can do nothing,”

also promised that when you abide in Him,

your life will bear fruit—

good fruit—

fruit that remains.

Stay connected.

The vine is strong.

Day 22: 

The True Vine

“I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 (KJV)

Morning Devotion

If you have ever walked through a vineyard in late summer, you know there is a holy hush that hangs in the air. The rows stretch long and straight, leaves full and green, heavy clusters of grapes hanging like blessings waiting to burst. But look a little closer, and you will notice something important: every branch that bears fruit is connected to something deeper.

Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches.”

He did not say, “Try harder to produce fruit.” He said, “Stay connected to me.”

That is the secret to the Christian life, not striving but staying.

A branch does not wake up anxious about bearing fruit. It simply abides. It draws from the life of the vine, and fruit happens naturally. In the same way, when you stay close to Jesus, His life flows into yours. Strength replaces strain. Peace replaces pressure. Fruit becomes the result of relationship, not the reward of effort.

A Porch Story

A few years ago, Joy and I planted a small grapevine by the fence near the back porch. For the first couple of seasons, we did not see much of anything, just leaves, shoots, and more waiting than I had patience for. I started thinking maybe the soil was not right or that I had done something wrong.

Then one summer morning, while sipping coffee on the porch, I noticed clusters beginning to form, small, green, and easy to miss. What I did not realize back then was that the vine had been busy the whole time, building a root system beneath the surface. What looked like stillness was actually strength being established.

That is how abiding works. Sometimes it feels like nothing is happening. You pray, you serve, you stay faithful, and yet, no fruit is in sight. But under the surface, the True Vine is at work, sending life through unseen roots, preparing you for a harvest in due season.

Fruit takes time. Growth takes grace. Both come from staying connected.

When the Pruning Comes

Sometimes God trims things out of our lives, habits, relationships, plans, not because He is angry, but because He is making room for more of His life to flow through us.

If you have ever watched a gardener prune a vine, it can look harsh, snipping, cutting, trimming back what seems perfectly healthy. But every cut has a purpose. The gardener knows that pruning is not punishment; it is preparation for more fruit.

It hurts, yes. But it is holy.

If you are in a season of pruning, do not resist it. Release it. Let the Vinedresser do His work. The hands that cut are the same hands that cultivate. He does not just want growth; He wants good fruit, the kind that lasts.

Life Application

Take ten quiet minutes today to simply abide. No agenda. No long list of requests. Just sit still and say,

“Lord, I am here with You.”

Maybe you will read a few verses from John 15. Maybe you will just breathe and rest in His presence.

You will find that peace does not come from doing more for God. It comes from being more with God.

Try adding what I call an “abide break” to your daily rhythm, five minutes in the middle of the day when you stop, close your eyes, and whisper, “I remain in You.” It is amazing how much clarity can flow from just being connected.

A Little Porchside Theology

Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” That is not discouragement. That is direction. It is His way of saying, “Stay close, and watch what happens.”

Our job is not to produce results. It is to maintain relationship. The fruit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, grows out of abiding (Galatians 5:22–23).

You cannot microwave maturity or fake fruit. Real fruit takes time, sunlight, water, and connection.

Here is the good news. If you are in Christ, the connection is already yours. You do not have to fight for it. You just have to flow with it.

Prayer

True Vine,

Thank You for being my source of life.

Keep me connected to You when the world tries to pull me in every direction.

Teach me to slow down and abide, not just in the morning, but all day long.

Prune what hinders, water what is withered, and help me bear fruit that honors Your name.

Let my words, work, and witness point others to the Vine who never runs dry.

In Your name, Amen.

Reflection Question / Journal Prompt

Where in your life have you been striving instead of staying?

Write this in your journal:

“True Vine, I choose to remain connected. Grow Your fruit in me.”

Then list one area of your life that needs pruning, a hurry, a habit, or a hidden hurt, and ask God to gently trim it away so His life can flow freely again.

Evening Reflection

As the day winds down, step outside for a moment if you can. Look at a tree, a vine, or even a flower, anything connected to its source, and let it remind you that growth happens quietly for those who stay rooted.

Abiding is not inactivity. It is connected activity.

Branches do not manufacture fruit. They reveal it.

Before bed, ask the Vinedresser,

“Lord, what needs trimming?”

Maybe it is a worry you have been holding too tightly, a grudge you have watered too long, or a pace that is choking your peace. Hand it to Him. Trust His careful cuts.

Then take a deep breath and whisper,

“I remain in You.”

Let that be your lullaby tonight.

Productivity will follow presence, not replace it.

Fruit worth having grows in the slow sunshine of staying.

So rest well, connected to the Vine, knowing that even while you sleep, His life is still flowing through you, shaping, strengthening, and preparing you to bear more fruit tomorrow.