Sustaining Power (Friday Devotional)

 

I lie down and sleep; I wake again,

because the Lord sustains me.

- Psalm 3:5

I turn on the faucet and water comes out. I drive down the road and the stop lights turn from red to green at the correct intervals. I step out of the blazing Texas heat and into a building and feel the cool air conditioning.

These—along with electricity, refrigerators, the Internet, and more—are modern conveniences we barely even think about anymore. We’re so accustomed to having such things that it’s only during temporary outages that we’re even conscious of them. But the moment these life-sustaining modern miracles are gone…yikes!

When we think about God’s power, we tend to go straight to the cinematic, larger-than-life moments. We are instantly attracted to the God who parts the Red Sea, who shuts the mouths of lions, who calms raging storms, and who raises the dead. That’s power.

But just as significant, if not so flashy, are the times when God sustains his people. The same God who miraculously gave manna one day in the wilderness was still doing it years later—long after it stopped feeling special. The same God who led his people into the promised land with torches and trumpets also equipped their leaders time and time again when threats came their way.

And the same God who gave you life on your first day sustains you still. Every new day is a providential gift; every breath is proof of his love for you. Whether you are conscious of it or you take it for granted, the fact remains the same: you are held up by an awesome God.

We see God most clearly in the big moments, when the world’s darkness makes his glory seem brighter than ever. But make no mistake, God is there in the smaller, everyday moments too. Thank him for his saving power, to be sure—but thank him also for his sustaining power.