From his book “For Times of Trouble” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland quotes from 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 or so much time looking ahead that we fail to see the opportunity right in front of us. Certainly we should study the past. We all ought to learn lessons of history. Many of our scriptures have been given to teach us about challenges that others have faced in the past so that we can avoid those dangers when they come to us. Furthermore, we all ought to plan for the future. We all ought to look ahead. None of us should be surprised when tomorrow comes and new circumstances present themselves. But having learned from the past and while preparing for the future, we can really only deal with the present day. Life has to be lived in 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 say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” God replied unto to His prophet, “I AM THAT I AM: . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM Hath Sent me unto you.” 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.”). 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 all titles applicable to the Lord. But when we really need Him urgently, when we need him in great faith, when challenges are immediate and overwhelming, He is with us in the present time.
I AM, I AM, I AM. Surely God is trying to teach us a great lesson 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 of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “For Times of Trouble” (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012) p. 125-26
