Advent Day 3: Genesis 1:1-2:3

Read Genesis 1:1–2:3.

Ponder

• God’s first act in creation is to separate light from darkness. Why do you think that’s important? 

• Light often signifies order and purpose, while darkness conveys chaos and confusion. How do you see that idea at work tangibly in creation? Explain. 

• Take some time to mull over the symbolism of light and darkness. How does light bring life? Order? Why is it so often used to signify blessing in Scripture? 

• Darkness can signify fear, death and even evil. In that natural world, how can darkness lead to death? Explain. 

• Darkness can also convey a sense of confusion, chaos and destructiveness. Why is it important that in creation, God sets a boundary between light and darkness? 

• When have you experienced seasons of darkness? How did God give you light during those times? How did he lead you out of darkness? 

• What are some boundaries you need to set in your life so that you can better hear and follow God? 

Meditate

I help lead a Bible study class for first graders at my church, and as I write this devotion, I’m preparing to teach them about creation. It’s a big topic, and an important one—because recognizing God as creator means acknowledging his authority in your life. 

A God who has the power to speak the world into being, to separate land and sky, earth and sea and to breathe life into humanity? That’s a God with authority, one who has the right to set boundaries in my life. 

It’s interesting, then, to realize that God’s first act of creation was to separate light from darkness, to call forth order from chaos. 

I don’t know about you, but when I allow my life to become ruled by “me”—my schedule, my desires, my goals, my money, my plans—it often starts to feel a little like chaos. In those moments when I submit myself to God’s authority, the clouds and darkness start to clear, and I can see what’s really important. When I allow him to set the boundaries around the things that fill my schedule and my thoughts and dictate my budget and my habits, I start to recognize order, purpose and meaning. 

Our world is full of chaos and confusion, but our lives don’t have to be. In this season that can be so often characterized by busyness, pause today and ask God to reveal the boundaries he wants to set in your life. Let him have control.

He is the creator, and the authority over everything that exists, your life included. Let him separate the light from darkness and bring order to the chaos.