Sustains
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The concept of "sustains" in the Bible refers to God's provision, support, and maintenance of His creation and His people. This theme is woven throughout Scripture, illustrating God's ongoing involvement in the world and His care for His children.

Divine Provision and Support

God's sustaining power is evident from the very beginning of creation. In Genesis, God not only creates the world but also maintains it. Psalm 104:14-15 highlights this ongoing provision: "He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart." Here, God's sustenance is seen in the natural order, providing for both human and animal needs.

Sustaining the Righteous

The Bible frequently emphasizes God's special care for the righteous. In Psalm 55:22 , believers are encouraged to "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken." This verse reassures the faithful that God will uphold them through life's challenges, providing strength and stability.

Similarly, Isaiah 46:4 declares God's commitment to His people: "Even to your old age, I will be the same, and even to your graying years, I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you." This promise underscores God's unchanging nature and His enduring support throughout the entirety of a believer's life.

Sustaining Through Trials

The sustaining power of God is also evident in times of trial and difficulty. In 2 Corinthians 12:9 , the Apostle Paul recounts God's assurance to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness." Here, God's sustaining grace is portrayed as sufficient to carry believers through their weaknesses and struggles.

The Book of Job provides a profound narrative of God's sustaining presence amid suffering. Despite losing everything, Job acknowledges God's sovereignty and sustenance, ultimately declaring in Job 42:2 , "I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted."

Sustaining Through Christ

In the New Testament, the sustaining work of God is often linked to Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:17 states, "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." This verse affirms Christ's role in sustaining the universe, emphasizing His divine nature and authority.

Furthermore, Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature, upholding all things by His powerful word." This passage highlights Christ's active role in maintaining creation and His divine power to sustain all things.

Daily Sustenance

The Lord's Prayer, as recorded in Matthew 6:11 , includes the petition, "Give us this day our daily bread." This request acknowledges God's role in providing for daily needs, reminding believers to rely on Him for sustenance in every aspect of life.

In summary, the theme of sustenance in the Bible encompasses God's provision, support, and maintenance of His creation and His people. Through His power and grace, God sustains the universe, upholds the righteous, and provides for His children, demonstrating His faithfulness and love throughout Scripture.
Greek
2316. theos -- God, a god
... Gen 1 - 3). [Long before the NT was written, 2316 () referred to the supreme
being who and sustains all things.]. Word Origin of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2316.htm - 7k

5050. teleiosis -- completion, perfection
... See 5056 (). [See also 5047 (, another feminine noun from the same root) which stresses
the of truth which sustains further consummation and 5054 () -- a third ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5050.htm - 7k

951. bebaiosis -- confirmation
... ratification, establishment. Cognate: 951 -- properly, what upholds (sustains),
ie is "for " (validated as guaranteed). See 949 (). Word ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/951.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew
5564. samak -- to lean, lay, rest, support
... siege (1), lay (17), lean (1), leans (3), relied (1), rested (1), steadfast (1),
support (1), sustain (3), sustained (2), sustainer (1), sustains (3), upheld (4 ...
/hebrew/5564.htm - 6k

5582. saad -- to support, sustain, stay
... root Definition to support, sustain, stay NASB Word Usage hold (1), refresh (2),
support (1), sustain (3), sustains (1), uphold (2), upholds (2). ...
/hebrew/5582.htm - 6k

1961. hayah -- to fall out, come to pass, become, be
... 1), resulted (1), running (1), seemed* (1), serve (3), show (1), sold (1), surely
become (1), surely come (1), surely come to pass (1), sustains (1), take (1 ...
/hebrew/1961.htm - 8k

Library

Organ Sustains Chords in Recitations
... No. 147 Organ sustains chords in recitations. GENERAL The Divine Praises Organ sustains
chords in recitations J. Lewis Browne. Slowly. Blessed be God! ...
/.../the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 147 organ sustains chords.htm

The Christian's God
... The Christian Conception of God has been thus expressed, "God is the Personal Spirit,
perfectly good, who in holy love, creates, sustains and orders all." The ...
/.../sell/studies in the life of the christian/study ii the christians god.htm

The Holy Spirit's Intercession
... refreshment: hope sees a crown in reserve, mansions in readiness, and Jesus himself
preparing a place for us, and by the rapturous sight she sustains the soul ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 26 1880/the holy spirits intercession.htm

The Relation of Home to the Church.
... CHURCH. The Christian home sustains a direct relation to the church. This
relation is similar to that which it sustains to the state. ...
/.../philips/the christian home/chapter iv the relation of.htm

Job
... what he is. Job sustains the four fierce blows, which stripped him of all,
with beautiful resignation. The Satan is foiled. He now ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mcfadyen/introduction to the old testament/job.htm

The Cloud of Witnesses
... The apostle says in this passage, "that apart from us they should not be made perfect."
Every work of the past is incomplete unless the present sustains it. ...
/.../peabody/mornings in the college chapel/i the cloud of witnesses.htm

Food for the Lambs.
... The Christian has a twofold life: he has both physical life and spiritual life.
As bread sustains physical life, so the word of God sustains spiritual life. ...
/.../orr/food for the lambs or helps for young christians/food for the lambs.htm

Christ to Jairus
... There is a word of encouragement which sustains a feeble faith: there is a word
of revelation which smooths the grimness of death; 'She is not dead but sleepeth ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/christ to jairus.htm

Practical Observations.
... 5. That is food which sustains life. Bread ... originate. But the bread from heaven
brings with it the life it afterwards sustains."Hanna. ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/practical observations 13.htm

How a Soul in Charity Makes Progress in It.
... And while he thus makes her walk in the virtues by which he disposes her to this
holy love, he does not conduct her only, but in such sort sustains her, that ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iii how a soul.htm

Thesaurus
Sustains (11 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Sustains (11 Occurrences). ... Psalms 3:5 I laid myself down
and slept. I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me. (WEB NAS RSV NIV). ...
/s/sustains.htm - 9k

Sustain (28 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as, a foundation sustains
the superstructure; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight. ...
/s/sustain.htm - 15k

Sustainer (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) One who, or that which, sustains. ... Psalms 54:4 Behold,
God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul. (See NAS). ...
/s/sustainer.htm - 7k

Unchangeableness (1 Occurrence)
... 15:11 Amos 7:3 Joel 2:13); He becomes angry (Numbers 11:1 Psalm 106:40); and lays
aside His anger (Deuteronomy 13:17 Hosea 14:4). He sustains a different ...
/u/unchangeableness.htm - 27k

Unchangeable (4 Occurrences)
... 15:11 Amos 7:3 Joel 2:13); He becomes angry (Numbers 11:1 Psalm 106:40); and lays
aside His anger (Deuteronomy 13:17 Hosea 14:4). He sustains a different ...
/u/unchangeable.htm - 28k

Sustenance (11 Occurrences)

/s/sustenance.htm - 9k

Upholds (12 Occurrences)
... Psalms 18:35 You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right
hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great. (See NAS). ...
/u/upholds.htm - 9k

Mount (311 Occurrences)
... 10. (vt) Hence: To put upon anything that sustains and fits for use, as a gun on
a carriage, a map or picture on cloth or paper; to prepare for being worn or ...
/m/mount.htm - 68k

Perdition (14 Occurrences)
... "To be lost" here signifies to have become estranged from God, to miss realizing
the relations which man normally sustains toward Him. ...
/p/perdition.htm - 14k

Backbone (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) The column of bones in the back which sustains
and gives firmness to the frame; the spine; the vertebral or spinal column. ...
/b/backbone.htm - 7k

Resources
What are the different names and titles of Jesus Christ? | GotQuestions.org

What is the aseity of God? | GotQuestions.org

What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the True Vine” (John 15:1)? | GotQuestions.org

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Sustains (11 Occurrences)

Leviticus 13:24
"Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,
(See NAS)

Psalms 3:5
I laid myself down and slept. I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 18:35
You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand sustains me. Your gentleness has made me great.
(WEB NIV)

Psalms 37:17
For the arms of the wicked are shivered, And Jehovah is sustaining the righteous.
(See NAS)

Psalms 41:3
Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.
(See RSV)

Psalms 54:4
Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.
(WEB NIV)

Psalms 104:15
wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man's heart.
(See NAS NIV)

Psalms 145:14
The Lord is the support of all who are crushed, and the lifter up of all who are bent down.
(See NAS)

Psalms 146:9
The Lord takes care of those who are in a strange land; he gives help to the widow and to the child who has no father; but he sends destruction on the way of sinners.
(See NIV)

Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a broken spirit who can bear?
(See NIV)

Isaiah 50:4
The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I should know how to sustain with words him that is weary; He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Sustains

Related Terms

Maintenance (4 Occurrences)

Provided (68 Occurrences)

Swaddle

Sustains (11 Occurrences)

Victuals (32 Occurrences)

Victual (6 Occurrences)

Naked (56 Occurrences)

Neighborhood (7 Occurrences)

Living (3112 Occurrences)

Gideon (45 Occurrences)

Widowhood (5 Occurrences)

Fourscore (33 Occurrences)

Foster (2 Occurrences)

Ruined (65 Occurrences)

Eighty (36 Occurrences)

Dearth (11 Occurrences)

Daily (111 Occurrences)

Mahana'im (13 Occurrences)

Barzil'lai (10 Occurrences)

Bread (433 Occurrences)

Barzillai (10 Occurrences)

Finding (57 Occurrences)

Concubines (18 Occurrences)

Calcol (2 Occurrences)

Chanaan (2 Occurrences)

Soul (554 Occurrences)

Silverlings (24 Occurrences)

Sustained (20 Occurrences)

Support (135 Occurrences)

Shepherd (76 Occurrences)

Comest (50 Occurrences)

Custody (27 Occurrences)

Siege (63 Occurrences)

Apocrypha

Tribulation (43 Occurrences)

Donkeys (71 Occurrences)

Dew (35 Occurrences)

Wealthy (22 Occurrences)

Crops (48 Occurrences)

Aged (63 Occurrences)

Spare (80 Occurrences)

Gaza (22 Occurrences)

Agriculture

Mahanaim (15 Occurrences)

Donkey (84 Occurrences)

Palace (194 Occurrences)

Encamped (115 Occurrences)

Prayer (406 Occurrences)

Entering (124 Occurrences)

Lord's (548 Occurrences)

Encamp (108 Occurrences)

Produce (140 Occurrences)

Increase (184 Occurrences)

Ass (95 Occurrences)

Either (152 Occurrences)

Shut (237 Occurrences)

Hospitality (9 Occurrences)

Old (3966 Occurrences)

Host (261 Occurrences)

Jacob (361 Occurrences)

Guard (185 Occurrences)

Testament (13 Occurrences)

Exodus (2 Occurrences)

Adam (29 Occurrences)

Israel (27466 Occurrences)

Religion (23 Occurrences)

Sustaining Spirit
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