In a New England January, when our steely resolve becomes “one day closer to spring,” we need this Revelation reminder. We need to remember that in every season, God is a two-letter word. “Is.” And in January especially but at any time of the year when the season feels a bit cold and hard, a good place to go to remember is Psalm 103.
It is here where “Is” is the key word. King David reminds us that God is never a used-to-be-in-the-good-ol'-days God, or a “wait ’til spring” kind of God, but always and forever a right now God. Even in January.
Everything in this great psalm is present-tense, even for January 23, 2022:
“He forgives all my sins.
He heals me.
He ransoms me from hell.
He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. [News flash: God has not forgotten.]
He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it;
He is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love.
He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever.
His mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.
For he knows we are but dust and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, blown by the wind and gone forever.”—Psalm 103:3-16, Living
But, wait. What’s with this one verse that’s past-tense: “He showed His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.” (vs. 7)? Even here, it's still all about “Is.” Because when God met with Moses on Mount Sanai in Exodus 34 and “showed His ways,” this happened: "Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses, and the Lord called out His name: the Lord …and said, “I AM the Lord. The Lord IS a God who shows mercy, who IS kind…”
“Is,” not used-to-be or maybe someday when it’s warm and sunny, is God’s character and it’s His name. And if we need one more reason to give praise instead of a winter sigh, Malachi 3:6 adds, “For I Am the Lord, I change not.” Our God was, is, and will always be the great I AM. He is Emmanuel — God with us still and forever, even in the depths of winter…for every need, every circumstance, every challenge, every decision, and every wicked cold January day.
“Anything God has ever done, He can do now.
Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here.
Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for you.”
—A.W. Tozer
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