Shining Perspective

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. ~Genesis 1:1

What comes to mind when you read this verse?

My son is learning this verse at preschool.  The children in his class learn a new bible verse each month.  I thought to myself: “this is an appropriate verse for the beginning of the school year.”  I didn’t give it another thought.

I noticed this verse staring at me this morning.  It was among a pile of papers on the counter.  I believe I absorbed the impact of its power for the first time.  It’s quite possible that this verse in the beginning of the bible is overlooked.  It is not a verse that one generally refers to as a life verse or a promise.  But the word of God is living and active.  This morning I was overwhelmed by the power in this verse.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This verse alone should inspire awe. One day God just said, “I’m going to create the heavens and the earth.”  Really?  On my very best possible day, I couldn’t dream up the earth, let alone create it and the heavens too!  Wow!   That is power.  I began to take in the amazing creation that is our earth; the perfect balance that exists because God made it that way.  God perfectly crafted each tiny detail of it.

Why is it so easy to overlook the beginning?  When I begin something new it is exciting.  But it doesn’t take long before I am racing to the finish. We seem to be in such a hurry to get to the end.  No matter where we are in life, we struggle to get somewhere other than where we are.  I propose it is pure selfishness.  God blesses us with the beginning of his amazing plan, his plan for this season of our lives and we just want to get through it. We just endure it.  But God has a purpose for each season.  God’s purpose is the reason that we don’t get to just jump into something and then poof, it’s done.  God wants to build patience, character, perseverance and test our loyalty.  God wants to prepare us for something amazing. If only we would be willing to let him.

I am extremely impatient, especially with myself.  I propose that it’s time to slow down a little.  Take a look at the beginning.  The beginning is God. No matter what it is you are trying to accomplish in your life, look to the beginning.  You may discover how far you’ve come.  Or you may be shown that you have gotten off track from where you once began.  When you take time to look at the beginning, you will see that your focus shouldn’t be the task at hand, but the hand of God guiding your steps; that is what you truly seek.

If you are at the beginning of something, live in that moment.  Embrace it.  God fashioned every tiny detail in your life and planned each set of circumstances that lead you to this exact moment in time.  Today I am at the beginning; the beginning of this season in my life.  I am at the beginning of this semester; the first semester of my college career.  I am going to live here, in this moment and not focus on the end.  I do not know what tomorrow will bring.  I can’t see where this season will take me.  But I will choose today to trust in the Lord for his plan is perfect.

Perhaps you are at the beginning too.  At the beginning of something awkward and new, at the beginning of something and you don’t know what to do.  Maybe you are in the middle, and your circumstances are bleak, or each day feels mundane.  Wherever you are, if you will take a look at the beginning, you will find your focus, your purpose, at the beginning of it all, you will find God.

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