Let there be Light!

Genesis 1 —

1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3And GOD SAID, “LET THERE BE LIGHT” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day….17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that IT WAS GOOD. —

Where do you turn when life gets chaotic or dark? When it seems like there is no order in your world and you are desperate for some relief? I am sure that the Lord speaks to you in a unique way during those times. Maybe He takes you to a specific Scripture or sends you comfort from someone special in your life. Maybe He drives you to your knees and speaks to you in prayer. Or maybe He reminds you of your favorite worship song that declares the goodness of God despite the circumstances. I’ve definitely experienced all of the above at different times, but one thing that God does consistently for me when life gets crazy is draw me back to the book of Genesis. And recently, the very beginning of Genesis— chapter 1. This may seem odd to some, but for me, this is one of those books that the Lord pours out revelation after revelation. It never gets old, never wears out, never fails to satisfy my weary heart.

It’s no secret that life has been increasingly challenging since the beginning of 2020. We have all felt it. Shockingly, this is one of the first times in history where everyone on the entire globe has felt it at the same time. There has been a significant shift, and the headlines testify to the storm that has been brewing in the spirit realm for quite some time. Even the most mature believer has run up against moments of confusion over the times we live in. And I am certainly no different. Anxiety has tried to creep in at times, along with questions, confusion, broken-heartedness, and even despair. And while these are obviously attacks from the enemy himself, we can rest assured that the Lord has given us weapons to fight back. I’m sure we can all agree that there is indeed a battle going on, and whether we like it or not, we have to fight to overcome lest we succumb to the darkness. The Lord has taught me to put on the full armor of God, to take up my sword, and pray! This is how the believer overcomes dark times.

But how do we pray? What do we pray? Well, I believe we are dependent on the Lord to direct not just our lives, but even our prayers so that we pray in accordance with God’s will. Prayer is a conversation with God where we express and exchange our desires for Heaven’s desires. As I said earlier, the Lord highlighted Genesis 1 to me. As I read it, I noticed some things that I had never considered before. And by His example, I believe He has some instruction for each of us. First, we see that in the beginning, the earth was formless and void. We see God as Creator and His Holy Spirit as the power source. God, is the mouthpiece in the following verses, and the Holy Spirit is the conduit to bring God’s words from invisible to visible, from words to actual substance. The Hebrew Word for formless is “tohu” and it is defined as “formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness, chaos.” Get that picture into your mind. Earth, itself, was complete chaos. It was a confusing place. There was nothing to see and touch. It was dark. There was no order, no purpose, and no clarity.  But, Scripture says that Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters. The word hover means “moving.” I love that image. The Spirit of God was moving in the midst of darkness, confusion, and void. It’s almost as if The Spirit was in ready position, and he was just waiting for the command to act. In this verse alone, I hope you are beginning to see that from the very first written words in the Bible, God was ready to act, and clearly had a plan for this place called “Earth.” 

Scripture says that God does not change (Malachi 3:6). Therefore, when our worlds get dark, we can conclude that the Holy Spirit is in ready position to act on our behalf to restore order and peace. So what is He waiting for? I would say He is waiting on someone to act like their Father in Heaven, for someone to understand that they are truly made in the image of the Almighty God and to imitate Him. We can begin like He did, by SPEAKING in a way that brings order to our environment. What do I mean by this? If God is my teacher and my example, then if God’s answer to chaos was to speak with authority, then my answer to chaos is speak with authority. Of course, I cannot accomplish anything on my own. I must first recognize that I am entirely dependent on the Lord to accomplish anything at all. I humble myself and pray to partner with God’s Holy Spirit, believing that as I declare the truths of God in prayer, the Holy Spirit will be ready and willing to act in accordance with God’s will.

So my prayer looks a lot like the very first words that God said on day one of creation—"Let there be LIGHT!” I go around declaring LIGHT everywhere I go. I walk through my house and release Light throughout it. I pray that light is released and spread throughout our community, state, nation, and the ends of the earth! And I trust that as I imitate my Father and yield my mouthpiece to Him, He will send out His Holy Spirit to accomplish the work of those words. And I know that His word never returns void — that is a promise! So will you join me? Join me in declaring light in this dark world. Join me in using your sword of the Spirit to bring order to the chaos. And let’s exercise our faith by being patient with the Lord to bring about a turnaround the likes of which we have never seen. Let’s give Him time to bring those invisible words straight from Genesis 1 to a place where we can literally see the work of those words with our eyes. Never, ever underestimate the power of prayer.

Pray with me —

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your example in Genesis 1. We look to you to know what to do in dark times and we follow your example of speaking light into our dark world. Lord, LET THERE BE LIGHT in our homes, in our cities, in our nation, and in our world. Help us to be LIGHT to everyone around us, and wake up more lights to shine bright for you! I pray that as they shine, darkness flees. We thank you for illuminating the plans of the enemy and we bind up his plans and cancel them in the mighty name of Jesus, our Savior. We love you, Lord, and we will be faithful to declare light and bring light everywhere we go.

In Jesus name,

Amen

There is power in your words, friends! Keep praying! Keep declaring! xoxo