Daily Reading: Genesis 1
Scripture Focus: Let there be light… (Genesis 1.3)
Devotional Thought: Some electric companies are called “Power and Light Company.” I like that. Without power there is no light. God is in the power and light business. When he turns on the power, the lights come on! At one point in ages past, before day or night existed, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1). Then, on the very first ‘day,’ God said, “Let there be light.” Out of the formless void, God’s creative power brought forth light, illuminating the rest of creation. And from the beginning, God separated light from darkness (v. 4). Light is good; darkness – not so much.
Darkness, however, was not only “over the face of the deep” when God created the heavens and the earth; it was also over the dry land. So God gave greater light and lesser light (day 3 of creation) to bring power and order to life.
Sometimes darkness falls over us, too. The loss of a job, the news of sickness, the death of a loved one… Many, many things bring darkness. But God is in the power and light business! He sets the greater light and the lesser light to ward off the darkness. And, even when things seem the bleakest, we can – if we look – see the stars of his eternal love blinking in the darkest heavens.
The Shepherd Psalmist was familiar with the darkness. He said, “Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” (Psalm 23.4) We may not be able to see our way through the darkness, but no night is so dark that God cannot see! He is with us, and … He is in the power and light business!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that you are in the power and light business. From the beginning you created light to bring order to our chaos, clarity to our confusion, and hope to our despair. Help us to walk in the light as you are in the light! Amen.
Psalm of the Day: 1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised. 3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. 4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God." 5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them. 6 He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." 7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. 8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; 9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might. 11 He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it." (Psalm 10.1-11)
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