Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
As I come to the Word of the Lord this morning, I do so with a reverence and careful determination. I must always remember this Word is pure, it is holy, and it is for me-for my benefit and yours, and I do very well not to come before this Holy Word casually or irreverently. For those who are struggling with confusion, who are going through a trial they don't understand, I believe these Scriptures will strengthen and encourage us as the Holy Spirit reminds us of some very basic, but vital facts. He wants us to understand His Word, and understand what it means to our lives and it is to this end I bow my heart before His Word, and come to sit at His feet, and learn of Him. I am so thankful this entrance has been granted-and that He would want to spend time with me, and teach me. In the beginning, before anything was, before there was an earth, before there were people and problems and devils, and temptations, and pain, and death and sin and suffering, there was God. There was Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We know the Bible says the Lord dwells in unapproachable light. (1Ti_6:16) That light is inaccessible. No man can approach this light-it's so pure it would consume flesh. He truly is a consuming fire (Heb_12:29). He is the High and Lofty One who dwells in eternity. (Isa_57:15) Before the mountains were made, before the earth was made, He was there-inconceivably almighty, and magnificently pure. (Psa_90:1-2)
He sits high and lifted up on the throne of all Creation, including every single universe that exists or ever has existed. He sits surrounded by creatures endued with power inconceivable to the human mind, yet these creatures worship and hide their faces and feet from Him in reverence, and all they can cry is "Holy, Holy, Holy". They are so overwhelmed by His presence and holiness. (Rev_5:14) Isaiah calls them seraphim, (Isa_6:2) John calls them beasts in Rev_4:8. Isaiah says they have 6 wings and with two of them they hide their faces in awe of Him. They cover their feet-this tells me they won't go or do anything unless He tells them to. How my spirit hungers to reach that place in God where every step, every word, every thought is guided by His Holy Spirit.
Before there was anything, there was this Great God. There is no place for human pride here. No place for human effort. Just surrender. The earth was a formless, empty place. This word formless also means a place of confusion, desolation, a wasted place. Void, it's a great empty ruined place. It was dark-there was no light. This was the condition of the earth in the beginning when God created it.
When the Lord began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was first a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors. (TLB). The Amplified Bible includes the fact the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the deep waters. This word 'deep' means an abyss, a subterranean water supply. It was a surging mass of water, according to Strong's Hebrew. One translation says the Spirit of God moved gently on the face of the waters. The KJV uses the word "moved" (H7363) and it translates to brood, but with an implication of being relaxed-and that implies confidence. The word brood means to hover or hang over something. So as I considered various translations, I found most of them to be accurate when you consider the original Hebrew from which they were all translated.
When you read the direct word for word translation (and I was surprised by this) from the original Hebrew, here is what it says:
Gen 1:1 Created by the Elohim were the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:2 Yet the earth became a chaos and vacant, and darkness was on the surface of the submerged chaos. Yet the spirit of the Elohim is vibrating over the surface of the water.
This is the Concordant Literal Version. It is a direct translation from the Hebrew. He brings order out of chaos with His Word. Where there is darkness, and emptiness and chaos, His Spirit hovers over this, brooding. If something created by a holy God who is pure and powerful was without form and empty, dark and desolate, how can man expect to create anything that will produce order? As I look closely at these Scriptures, carefully, prayerfully examine them, I see HIM, hovering over this dark, empty place where there is only confusion, nothing is in right order. But He hangs over this and speaks, and at His Word, the darkness is gone. He says "Let there be LIGHT."
Light is required here. He speaks, (Psa 33:9) and it is done. Light means illumination. Things are clear now, in every sense. He speaks, darkness and confusion are gone. Man can create nothing that has any sense of order about it. When God created the earth, it took His Word to bring light and order to it. How powerful His Word is. Then He divides light from darkness. He is showing us, teaching us with every thing He does how it is to be. What fellowship has light with darkness? 2Co_6:14 The two can NOT co-exist in the same place.
Now, let us consider this: this awesome God brought order and understanding on a massive scale to this planet-with His Word. Let there Be Light! He said it. If you are struggling, if you have failed Him and feel you aren't accepted by Him, but you want Him then come. If your life feels like chaos, if it is desolate, and barren, and empty and everywhere you look everything looks dark, come. When everything feels like it has spun out of control, and nothing makes sense anymore, come. If you are fighting depression and all you want to do is sleep to escape, get up, and come. If the pain is bad, the emotional hurt you can't deny or escape, come. Whatever the problem, it is not too big for this awesome God.
Eph 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We don't minister ourselves, but HIM, His promises, His life is the answer. He commanded the light to shine out of darkness so we could see in our minds the understanding that the glory of God is Jesus Christ, our hope of glory. He puts this treasure of Himself in our earthen vessels, in our human bodies, made from dust of the earth, sustained by His life, naturally and spiritually. Like Paul, we can be troubled on every side, but we are not hemmed in. When it looks like there is no way out, He is the way. He is the Waymaker! When we are persecuted, pressed, and pursued by the powers of darkness that would love to flood our minds with despair and hopelessness, HE lifts up the standard. He will not let us drown. We can look to Him, even if we are so weak we are barely hanging on and He will reach down and save us when we cry out to Him. He will never leave us or forsake us. Hallelujah! Look up, Beloved, He has not left you alone. He has been there all along. Just call out to Him, He will rescue you, and bring you through victorious! There is no darkness too powerful for the light of His Truth. He is the First and the Last, He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End of everything. It all started with HIM and it ends up with Him.
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