Present with God: In the Beginning

“And the spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”-Genesis 1:2
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” -Genesis 2:1

When we begin to contemplate what it means to intentionally introduce empty moments into our crowded and chaotic lives so that we can focus, center and be present with God, we must consider that God himself is our model. And we don’t have to look any further than the first pages of our Bible to see that God is already showing us how this margin-making lifestyle is to be lived out.

Pausing over the Waters

The very first picture we get of God in the Bible is a surprising one. Genesis shows us a god who is about to cause all of existence to spring to reality, but the image we get is not one of power and motion. Instead, Genesis points us to a god pausing over the waters of chaos that he will soon form and fill and order.

Knowing what we will learn about God as the chapter unfolds, its a surprising introduction. We do not expect to see an all-knowing God in a contemplative pause. We do not expect to see an all-powerful God at rest. We do not expect to see an active and creative God, hovering. But before God calls light into existence, the Bible records him hovering…just taking a moment before his six-day universe-building project.

There’s no way for us to know why God pauses here. Genesis doesn’t give us an explanation so anything we imagine is pure speculation. Perhaps God stops to consider the action he has chosen to initiate. He knows the rejection he will feel by the rebellion of the creatures he will soon call into existence. He knows the heartbreak he will feel for the brokenness that our rebellion will cause in his perfect creation. He knows the cost that will be required to redeem his fallen and scarred creation. So perhaps he has a moment of pensive anticipation of the eternal implications of the next six days. Or, perhaps he pauses because, like us, he is simply enamored by the sight of open water.

Regardless, it should be noted that just because God is pausing does not mean that he is inactive. In the following 29 verses, God will cause everything in the universe to come into existence. This is a powerfully active God, so perhaps his pause has some deeper meaning.

Pausing After-Work

After all the creative and formative work that God does, Genesis tells us that God returns to the state we found him in: at rest. Having, just created all of existence, who’s to say he hasn’t earned a day off, but we know that this day of rest isn’t a rejuvenation for God. Being all-powerful means that God was as energized and as capable on day six as he was on day one. So again we must assume that God is modeling a behavior for us that he wants us to emulate.

We know that this seventh day will be used as an explanation for the ancient Israelite rhythms of Sabbath rest. We know that additionally, the ancient Israelite people would introduce other rhythms of rest into their months, seasons, years, decades and generations. Everything would be ordered to ensure there were adequate cycles of activity and recovery. And this rest day that God takes provided the basis for it all.

What is all this is trying to tell us?

What is obvious is that in a story intended to communicate God’s power as creator of all things, we learn a lesson about purposeful emptiness. God shows us in his hovering and in his resting that we must also seek intentional margin in our rhythms of life and work in order to be healthy. We must follow his example and seek out opportunities to pause and contemplate. We must create margin to rest and rejuvenate our bodies and our souls. We must open up our distracted attention to allow ourselves to feel His presence.

Be Present with God

As you respond to this reality, make some time to be present with God. Thank him that he has modeled for us healthy life-rhythms. Ask him to convict you of when you have neglected to make enough space for him to reveal himself to you. Ask him to reveal to you the opportunities in the future. Thank him for what Genesis teaches us about who he is and who you were created to be.