Preservation
Moment by Moment Dependence
Providence · 6 verses
All creation depends upon God's sustaining power not merely for initial existence but for continued being at every moment. Should God withdraw His preserving hand even briefly, all things would instantly collapse into nothingness, for creatures possess no inherent power of self-existence.
Scripture References
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
“If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.”
“These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.”
“But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:”
“In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”
“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”