DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” – Genesis 1:1-2
DEVOTIONAL
This well-known opening verse of the Bible is one of the most profound texts in all of Scripture. When my Father gave me this while I was studying for a school assignment, I couldn’t wait to share it during our For Your Soul Worship on Sunday. To say “in the beginning God created the heavens and earth,” (1:1) tells us a great deal about the Father and His relationship to the universe and His creation.
First, we learn two truths that I think we often take for granted. Our Father existed at the very beginning, before anything else. Secondly, this verse teaches that the entire universe and everything in it was “created” from the Lord’s hand. The word translated as “created” is used only of our Father in the Old Testament and it points toward the fact that our Father took unordered material and fashioned and formed new conditions and functions to that which was laying dormant. In Genesis 1:2 we see this simply communicated that there was no form or life on the earth; it had no meaning or purpose. In the midst of the emptiness, His Presence was there and it set into motion destinies with just the breath of His Words; He seperated light and brought function to light, water, and vegetation. Is that not a powerful image? Light now had a function to keep the time. Water now had a function to maintain the climate. Vegetation now had a function and that was to provide food for man and the animals. In one day He brought order to chaos, purpose to what was meaningless.
Our Father gives function and destiny to all things that He creates from the very beginning.
Isn’t that amazing that His initial purposes for all things cannot be changed, thwarted or destroyed despite the bad decisions, past failures, hindrances, setbacks and setups! Our Father has fixed our destinies at the foundation of the very earth and because our destinies are fixed, we must not fear the desolation, give room to the chaos, or run after the ruin of the relationship. That uncertainty that you feel in the wilderness is just a perfect opportunity for our Creative Genius to transform circumstances into new conditions that serve new purposes. As of today meaningless matters don’t matter. Get your focus back to your original function which is to glorify Him.
We are made in Our Father’s image, simply put, this means that we are a “copy” of Him. This may be somewhat hard to conceptualize that we have the ability to posses Our Creator’s mind, will, heart, and creative spirit. But we do! And since we are made in His image, it is our duty to live fearlessly functional in His Divine Destinies!
Contributed by: Pastor Yolanda Douthit
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