Creation

Now the earth was formless and empty,

darkness was over the surface of the deep and

the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:2

In silence, creation began. Then light, sky, water, land, plants, trees, sun, moon, stars, sea creatures, birds, animals, and finally, man and woman, gloriously burst forth at God's command. And it was good.

Last November, my husband and I went on a romantic getaway to Maui, and while we were there we went on a sunset dinner cruise. I expected to be blown away by the beautiful sunset, but it didn't materialize like we'd hoped and the day turned to night without much fanfare. What blew me away, though, came after the sun set. It was simply, the darkness. Never in my life have I seen such darkness. Had it not been for the happy lights on our boat, you couldn't have seen your hand in front of your face. The darkness was palpable. As far as my eye could see past the edge of our boat, it was black. Not just dark blue or purple, but totally, completely black. Not a twinkle in the night sky to light the water. Just darkness. Darkness was over the surface of the deep, as Genesis says. To me, it was a scary darkness, even though I was safe.

At times, life looks pretty dark and grim. Our circumstances aren't what we hoped they'd be. We're disappointed. We can't see a way out. No one seems to hear our calls for help. We feel we've been left groping in the dark. We need something, someone to give us hope. God offers himself in Genesis 1:2. For though darkness was over the surface of the deep, God's spirit was hovering over the waters. If you're in dark, deep waters today, picture your loving God hovering over you, keeping watch, protecting, waiting for the perfect time to start creating something new in your life. There's no better place to be than in God's watchful eye, his creativity welling inside Him, until it bursts forth in your life, and something beautiful is made in the darkness. And, as with all His creation, it will be good.