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
In the Shadow of his Wings
Did the waters get scared? Did the waters need comfort and encouragement? Did the waters have the tendency to flow or move the wrong ways? Did the waters need guidance and direction? Did the waters need forgiveness and peace?
No. But I do. And you do.
The Spirit's work in the beginning is hard to picture. What exactly did the formless, empty, dark, deep waters need from the Spirit? But the fact is clear and comforting: the Holy Spirit was there, like a mother eagle sheltering her young ones, sheltering, preserving, protecting, sustaining. God's Word in Psalm 104:30 says that when the Lord sends out his Holy Spirit…the face of the earth is renewed.
The Spirit of God does that and even more for us. Like we confess in the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit is the Lord, the giver of life. If the brand-new creation waters and the face of the earth needed the Spirit's life-giving presence, you and I need him even more. We struggle daily with weakness of faith, though God's promises are firm and true. We struggle daily with fear and worry, as if God were absent during our struggles. We struggle daily with the sinful tendency to go the wrong way, though God's commands are clear. Without God's presence, our saving faith could not and would not survive.
So the Holy Spirit comes to give us life. He comes to shelter us, protect us, and sustain us. He comes to forgive us by Christ's blood, comfort us with the promises of God's love in Christ, and guide us with divine direction in the Word.
As the Holy Spirit was there in the beginning, he is always here with us. As the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters in the beginning, he will always hover over us. We are loved and forgiven. We are sustained in saving faith. We are safe in the shadow of his wings.
Prayer:
Dear Father, without you I am lost. Send your Holy Spirit to renew me, sustain me, and give me life through Christ my Savior. Hide me in the shadow of his wings. Amen.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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