Yesterday, I had a good conversation with a friend who’s doubting his faith. Not just whether or not Jesus is the Son of God or if He actually rose from the dead. No, my friend is doubting the existence of God.

I love my friend and hope he will come full circle after his search for the truth and find a faith stronger than ever.

He is looking for proof that God exists. I suggested that the complexity and beauty of the universe provides enough evidence for me that there is in fact an intelligent designer behind it all. I simply do not have enough faith to believe that everything came from nothing by accident. It requires almost no faith for me to believe Someone created all this.

Of course it’s then fair to ask, “If you believe God created the universe–who created God?” And that’s the very question I asked my mother when I was growing up. I still remember being tucked into bed one night and asking her that. My mother’s response was, “God created Himself.”

I’m sure she was doing her best, but her answer makes no sense, does it? You can’t create yourself. Someone or something must first exist to create someone or something else. So the real answer is simply–God is uncreated. He has no beginning and no end. He has always been in existence. He’s eternal. Eternal in the past and eternal in the future.

In Exodus 3, God instructed Moses to go back to Egypt and tell Pharoah to let the Israelites leave Egypt. Moses is very reluctant to go. In verse 13, he said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

In verse 14, God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

I AM. Not “I WAS” or “I WILL BE.”

I AM.

How can anyone or anything have always existed? How can that possibly be?

I can understand asking those questions. The idea that God has always been in existence, that He has no beginning, that there’s never been a time when He was not here…is wild. It’s crazy. It’s beyond human comprehension.

And yet consider the alternative: everything in the universe came into existence from nothing without any cause or purpose. If it seems too hard to believe an eternal God created everything then all you’re left with is nothing created everything.

Either God created the universe. Or nothing did.

There are no other options.

If you really want to short circuit your mind–try to think about how and why God exists. Get alone in a quiet place. Drop all the distractions. Now spend twenty minutes considering the eternal nature of God. Try to get your mind around Someone having always existed, not having a cause.

If you’re like me, you’ll experience a moment of fear at some point while doing this. And I think that’s good and healthy. The Bible talks about fearing God. Yes, He loves us. Yes, He’s full of grace and mercy and kindness and patience. But for me, there’s just something about God having no beginning that unsettles me. In a good way. I’m reminded that I will one day stand before Him and give an account of my life. And there’s no escaping that fact.

How about you?

Are you doubting His existence? Then consider the alternative. Everything came from nothing?

Maybe you don’t doubt His existence, but you’ve doubted or forgotten His sovereign rule over the universe, including you. And that one day He will judge you for how you’ve lived.

The cares of this life easily distract us from a few core truths that have the ability to humble us and bring life into perspective. And one of those truths is simply:

God has ALWAYS existed.