Start the Year With God’s Word and God’s Light!
January 6, 2021·Tim Clark
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. — Genesis 1:1-3
I love starting a new year in Genesis.
Beginning the Bible at the beginning of the new year always gives me a sense of “fresh start” and, in the first two verses, I’ve found a personal yearly operating principle. Let me share it with you here.
Every January 1, I realize there was darkness — some translations call it desolation — that hasn’t been dealt with from the prior year. Especially this year, some of us may be stuck in the darkness that was 2020.
On January 1, I also realize the year ahead is formless, it’s empty — nothing has happened, yet. Though I may have a calendar full of plans, none of those plans have taken shape and, as 2020 taught us, you can’t ever truly know what might manifest in any given year.
But the Holy Spirit is hovering over all the darkness of the year behind and the emptiness of the year ahead.
And the Father has a plan to fill the emptiness with His purposes and bring clarity to the darkness. Here’s how He starts…
First, He speaks! When we hear the Word of God spoken to our lives, His Word fills the empty places and shapes the formless places.
Then, He clarifies! The first words we hear from God are vital — “let there be light!” God’s first recorded words reflect His nature and purposes — He is the One who dispels the darkness in our lives and illuminates what He is about to fill our lives with.
In the first chapter of John, we find that Jesus is both the Word of God and the Light of God. This year, as with every year, let’s be reminded that as we keep our lives lined up with Jesus, He will create what is needed to fill our lives with His purposes, and will illuminate places where darkness tries to hide!
Join me in reading through the Bible — the written Word of God — this year and asking the Lord to clarify His Word, so we can partner with Him in the creative process of filling our lives with His good purposes!
Grace,
Pastor Tim Clark
PS: The reading plan I use, and that the weekly PAUSE devotional is based on, is LINKED HERE!
