Day 3: Is
Not only did God create the universe, but He actively maintains it. Not only did He save you, but He continues caring for you. The Shepherd hasn’t clocked out.
Day 3: Is
Psalm 23:1 — “The LORD is my shepherd…”
OK, wait a minute— I know exactly what you’re thinking. When I said we are going to take a magnifying glass to every word in Psalm 23, do I really mean every word? Even the word is?
Well, here we are. And, interestingly, one of the smallest words in Psalm 23 may be one of the most comforting.
Is.
Notice what David does not say. He does not say: “The LORD was my shepherd.” Nor does he say: “The LORD will be my shepherd.”
He says: “The LORD is my shepherd.”
Present tense.
Right now.
Today.
At this very moment.
Many of us live on yesterday’s blessings while worrying about tomorrow’s problems. God certainly worked in the past so God will work in the future. Right?
But God is also working now.
When Jesus described Himself as the Good Shepherd, (John 10:11), it was in the present tense. One of the enemy’s favorite lies is to convince us that God has become distant. We tend to feel abandoned. Forgotten. Overlooked.
But feelings are poor theologians. The reality is that Christ is actively shepherding His people every moment of every day. We call this God’s providence—His continual sustaining and governing of all things.
Not only did God create the universe, but He actively maintains it. Not only did He save you, but He continues caring for you. The Shepherd hasn’t clocked out.
Think of a child sleeping in the back seat of a car. That young person has no idea where the road turns, where the traffic is heavy, or how close danger may be. But the father driving never stops paying attention. So, the child rests because someone else is awake.
That is providence.
Matthew 28:20
“…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Colossians 1:17
“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
God is not merely the God of your testimony or the hope of your salvation. He is also the God who is living and active—the God of your present circumstances.
