1In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
2Now the earth was formless and empty, and there was darkness above primeval ocean, and God’s wind was blowing above the water. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” . . . 31 And God saw everything he had made, and yes, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. — Genesis 1:1-3; 31
I grabbed an outline I wrote several years ago for today’s devotional. One reason is that I’m running late. Another is that it’s Monday, and Monday can be a hard day for many people.
We’re more than halfway through the year now, and most of us have likely forgotten what our New Year’s resolutions were, much less have we kept them. We’re all probably in need of a new start in some way.
You don’t have to wait for New Year’s Day for renewal or to make new resolutions. Monday is a good day for them as well, but it can be any time, any day for that matter. God is in the business of creating—and recreating. Let’s think about these points we can learn from Genesis 1.
First, God is the creator. No matter what we may think about anything else, we can’t forget this. Behind everything is God. It’s easy to forget this, however, when we’re in trouble. Keep this in mind: Whatever it is, God made it, and he can handle it.
Second, without God’s activity things are barren and lifeless. When we see only barrenness and lifelessness around us, when discouragement and depression seem about to overwhelm us, we can be certain they are not of God. God moves into the chaotic, the dismal, the dark, and makes it light.
Third, despite what we may think, even in darkness, God is active. There could be no darker time, no place where God was less obvious than in the chaos of Genesis 1:2. But God’s Spirit was there, in the darkness, hovering over the chaos and emptiness. No matter how dark things seem, God is still there.
Finally, at the worst of times, God spirit moves. Genesis 1:1-2 gives us the parameters. God can move from nothing to everything. If God can move from nothing to everything, then he can move your life from the darkness of sin to restoration. He can resolve financial issues. He can resolve family issues. None of these are anything like as hard to deal with as going from nothing to everything!
The real question is, will we move with God? Sometimes we choose to stay in darkness. Sometimes we choose to go our own way. But the one real, total solution to our problems will be found in God’s presence in our life. God is still in the business of creation.
Let’s remember the new creation. Paul says,
Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. — 2 Corinthians 5:17
And what God does is good, whether it’s to the world in Genesis or in your own heart today.
