A Truth to Believe

God Preserves and Upholds

The God of the Bible preserves and upholds all things. He is not only the creator of the entire universe but also sustains its existence moment by moment (Neh. 9:6). From tiny molecules to vast galaxies, God created, preserves, and upholds it all.  

God's preservation, or upholding, is his ongoing care in sustaining all things as he orders them. All things depend on God because his creation is not self-sustaining. Thus, God alone "upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3). 

God not only sustains heaven and earth (Neh. 9:6) but also preserves his covenant people by saving them (1 Sam. 30:23), delivering them (Ps. 138:7), and personally keeping them (Ps. 16:1; 40:11; 41:12; 140:4). 

As a refuge (Ps. 16:1) and hiding place (Ps. 32:7), God preserves his people through his good commands (Deut. 6:24) and by providing the breath of life itself (Job 34:14–15). Throughout redemptive history, God preserved Israel (Josh. 24:17) and his Son (Isa. 42:1). He also preserves the faithful (Ps. 32:7), his saints (Ps. 37:28, 97:10), the righteous (Ps. 37:17), those who love him (Ps. 145:20), the humble (Ps. 145:14), and the needy (Ps. 146:9). 

As the God of all power and authority, it is fitting for his people to pray that he would preserve us (Ps. 64:1, 79:11, 86:2, 143:11), uphold our spirits (Ps. 51:12), and preserve our whole being according to his promises (Ps. 119:116). Thus, we can declare, "My soul clings to you, your right hand upholds me" (Ps. 63:8), because God alone promises to uphold us "with my righteous right hand" (Isa. 41:10).

Truly, God is building his kingdom, and he will uphold it forever! (Isa. 9:7). His preserving and upholding of all things, including us as his people, should lead us to worship his power and greatness (Ps. 41:11–13), for "in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:17) and "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28; 2 Pet. 3:7).

“You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. (Nehemiah 9:6)

A Quote

"We often think that if we had that man's means or that man's ability or that man's opportunity, we could do something worth doing; but, as we are, there is no possibility of any great thing. Yet God does not want us to fill any other man's place, or to do any other man's work. God wants us to improve our own opportunity with the possessions and the powers that He has given us. It is a very great thing for us to do the very best we can do just where and as we are. God asks no one of us to do more than this, nor has any one of us a right to do less."

Maltbie Davenport Babcock

Something about Living

What excuses are you using to drift toward passivity, irresponsibility, sin, or a life that, though it may not be sinful, is unfitting in light of the power of God and the truth of the Gospel?

We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

1 Thessalonians 2:12

A Resource

Let us never forget that theology is meant to lead us to doxology.

He Will Be - CityAlight