‘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)
When God begins to move, it often looks like the situation is hopeless and despairing, and worse of all – impossible. Crossing the Red Sea looked impossible to the Israelites. How were they going to transport approximately three million people, with their animals and belongings across a sea that was over seven thousand feet deep? Wading was out of the question, as was the backstroke. Sarah and Abraham having a child at the ages of eighty-nine and ninety looked impossible. What shape would the womb of a woman that age be in? So, how did these two impossible events happen? How could the Red Sea part, and Sarah and Abraham end up needing a nursery? Easy. God was hovering over the sea, as well as Abraham, “the father of many nations.” Where God hovers, things happen. Miraculous things.
When God begins a new work, it often looks as if nothing will come of it. We are told in Genesis that before God even uttered the words, “Let there be light,” the earth was a “wasteland”, a blob of “emptiness,” according to the Hebrew language. It was darkness blanketed in water-soaked chaos. Things looked impossible. But as soon as the Father began to speak, the chaos turned into creation, the good and the very good began to happen. Why? Because God was hovering over that empty blob.
You may feel that there’s no hope for our world today. Sin is destroying it. Politics are tearing it apart. World leaders are annihilating it. Diseases are infecting it. And our world is once again reaching the stage it was before creation. A desolate orb, filled with the debris of man’s sinful ways. But this isn’t the first time this has happened. When Jeremiah warned the idol-worshipping Israelites that God was about to stomp their land into oblivion, he told them that the earth was an empty wasteland because of their sin. (Jeremiah 4:23). Isaiah too depicted the effects of humanities rebellion as a place of confusion and emptiness. (Isaiah 34:11). Where there is sin, rebellion and selfishness, darkness and death brood.
But here is the good news. The One seated on the throne has said, “I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5). He did it at creation. He continues to do so. So, even though the world may look hopeless and despairing, never forget that we serve a God who is hovering over it. And where God hovers, things happen. Miraculous things.
Darlene