God is the most creative being who has ever existed, who will ever exist, and he knew where to draw the line when designing the creation. Drawing the line…That’s a tough thing for me. Maybe it’s a tough thing for you, knowing when you’ve done enough at work, for your family, for your friends, knowing you are enough. If you struggle with these things too, you might be happy to know that you’re not alone. Let’s dive into Genesis!
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Transcription:
“I just don’t know where to draw the line.”
That’s what I said to my friend Judy just a few days ago. We were sitting in my favorite coffee shop and I was telling her that for years I’ve struggled with work-life balance, and Judy said something in that moment that made all the conversation around us disappear… All the coffee sounds fade into the background. She said even God knew when it was enough. He created the world and he stopped after six days, and I just stopped in my tracks right there and I was thinking to myself, God is the most creative being who has ever existed, who will ever exist, and he knew where to draw the line. That’s a tough thing for me. Maybe it’s a tough thing for you, knowing when you’ve done enough at work, for your family, for your friends, knowing you are enough. If you struggle with these things too, you might be happy to know. We’re going to be exploring them this week on the Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica and I’m so glad you’re here. We’re going back to the beginning today. We’re going to remember how awesome and creative our God is. We’re going to study the wonder of his wisdom. I know with all my heart that he can teach us to draw the line too. He’s our example in all things. So join me now in Genesis chapter one, beginning in verse one.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. 6 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 7 And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. 8 God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
And right off the bat here, this is God showing us that he is the God of order. There’s a time for day and there’s a time for night. There’s a season for everything, and he’s showing us that it is good to slow down, right? To take a break. Even the sun goes down and we can too. We can shut down our brains for a while. Okay, picking it up in verse nine now.
Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. 10 God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
Okay, so here we see God streamlining things, and it makes me wonder, how can I streamline my schedule? How can I be a good steward of the minutes that God gives me? The minutes that God gives you every day. Lord, show us our hands and our hearts are open to your wisdom. Verse 11 Now.
Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. 12 The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day. 14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. 15 Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16 God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, 18 to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.19 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day. 20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. 25 God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” 27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” 29 Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 30 And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. 31 Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. [Genesis 2:1-4] So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. 4 This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth.
God could have done more, but he stopped at the platypus, one of the most unusual creatures, right? His creativity is limitless. He stopped, and I know with all my heart that this gives you and I permission to stop too, at the end of the day, and on Sunday. To honor the Lord’s Day, to keep it holy, to give ourselves a time of rest. Lord, give us discernment. We pray in Jesus’ name, to know when it’s time to power down our laptops, to put our email notifications on silent. Help us to rest so we can recharge and refresh. For tomorrow is another day. Show us your truth, dear Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen. Until next time, you are really loved.
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