Every elementary particle in the universe is a point excitation of an underlying field that permeates the entire universe. There are different fields for different types of particles and those fields can interact with each other. Some fields carry force like the electromagnetic. Combine the fields and you get all the matter in the universe and the forces that drive them. And what makes the whole thing work is energy. Lots and lots of energy.
I sometimes refer to this as "God's computer program."