Daily Devotional
In the Beginning
Scripture
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth— Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light!” And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God caused there to be a separation between the light and between the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:1-5
Reflection
The Bible does not open with an argument for God's existence. It opens with God already at work, speaking light into a formless dark. Before anything else is true about the world, this is true: it did not make itself, and it is not an accident. It is spoken, intended, loved into being. Notice how God works. He does not wrestle the darkness into submission; he simply speaks, and light appears. Then he names it good. The same voice that ordered galaxies is the voice that will later call Abraham, speak through the prophets, and finally become flesh in Jesus. Creation is the first chapter of a story that runs all the way to the cross and the empty tomb. If your own life feels formless and dark right now — unshaped, chaotic, void of meaning — the opening of Scripture is quietly good news. God has never been intimidated by darkness. He is in the habit of speaking light into it. He is not finished creating, and he is not finished with you. The God of Genesis 1 is the God of your Monday morning, patiently calling order and goodness out of the raw material of an ordinary life.
Prayer
Creator God, before I did anything, you spoke and the universe answered. Speak into the formless places of my life today. Where I see only darkness, call forth your light, and remind me that I belong to a world you called good.
Today's Question
Where in your life right now do you most need God to speak light into darkness?