“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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 1:1-2).

Everything has a beginning. Genesis means ‘beginning’. It is the story of creation as we know it. God is this eternal Being Who was before creation. He always was. He it was that created all matter in the universe.

But it says that the earth was formless and empty. And darkness covered the surface. This statement reminds me of me prior to my conversion. I was there, but my life had no meaning or purpose. My heart was empty and void. And talk about darkness; I was the example of broken darkness. No light could penetrate the dark cloud that seemed to follow me around.

But the Spirit of God was hovering over this formless, empty and dark world and brought life to it, just as the rest of chapters 1&2 describe. And this also reminds me of me. In my darkness I rejected the light that was all around me. But the Spirit of God, sometimes called “the hound of heaven”, was always hovering over me. I can recall several ‘close encounters’ when the Spirit was attempting to pull me over, but my stubbornness refused to relent. But the Spirit of God was even more stubborn than I. He finally arrested me and set me free. Thank God for the light of heaven that always breaks through the darkness.