Psalm 118:24
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
One of the great temptations of life is to spend so much time looking back that we fail to see the opportunity right in front of us. Certainly we should study the past. We all ought to learn the lessons of history. Many of our scriptures have been given to teach us about challenges that others have faced in the past so we can avoid those dangers when they come to us. Furthermore we ought to plan for the future. We ought to look ahead. None of us should be surprised when tomorrow comes and new circumstances present themselves. But having learned form the past and while preparing for the future, we can in reality only deal with the present day. Life has to be lived in the present tense. The current hour is the only one we have.
It is telling that when the fearful Moses was to rescue the enslaved Israelites, he said to the Lord, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall unto me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” God replied to His prophet, “I AM THAT I AM: . . . Thus shalt I say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” 176 Grammatically (and theologically) speaking, that is a divine declaration of God in the present tense. (He had just said to Moses, “I Am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”177) Yes, He has been with us in the past and yes, He will be with us in the future. He is Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. These are titles applicable to the Lord. But when we need Him urgently, when we need Him in great faith, when the challenges are immediate and overwhelming, He is with us in the present tense.
I AM, I AM, I AM. Surely God is trying to teach us a great truth here. He is. He does live. He does act in our lives. He is engaged with us in the first person, present tense, active voice. Nothing could be more comforting. ~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; From his book “For Times of Trouble—Spiritual Solace from the Psalms”. p.125-6
