Read Genesis 1:1-2

“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.”

It might seem a little strange that I am starting off a New Year devotional with the word Emmanuel, which seems like “so last year” (in my valley accent, lol)…… We are used to hearing the name “Emmanuel” during Christmas, so why “Emmanuel?”

As we start off this new year, I feel strongly God wants us to go back to the start of it all. I am amazed at reading the book of Genesis again and seeing how God established some fundamental truths of the essence of who He is and His character in just that one chapter. The first thing that stood out to me in this chapter was that God created first. What we call earth and heavens was created in the mind of God before it became the full reality that we see.

“Emmanuel” simply means God with us. God has always been with us, even from the start of time, and his intent is to always be with us, never leaving us, never forsaking us, but present at all times “Emmanuel.”

What struck me in these opening verses is the ability of God to be with us even in dark times. The spirit of God can be in all places and all spaces. Although the darkness existed, the Spirit of God was also there at the same time. It reminds me of the passage in Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” This verse is about who God has always been from the beginning of time, and it is who he will always be.  

So, friend, never feel alone or lost in your deepest or darkest seasons. In times when all seems lost and it all doesn’t make sense when you feel at your worst, God never leaves. He will never leave. He is always hovering over, brooding. He is always there.

No matter what darkness or emptiness or void or nothingness lies ahead of you this year, I want you to see like your father: see beyond the surface of what it is and believe that what you envisioned from the start of this year will come to pass.

In this new year, I want us to remember who God has always been from the beginning of time and hold on to the truth of who He revealed himself to us from the start. This reminder will give us confidence that no matter what we go through this year, we should remember that God, the creator of all things, is always with us.

Read and Meditate on these verses below and write down the following:

1. What does the word Emmanuel mean to you?

2. In what ways can you be more aware of the presence of God daily?

Zephaniah 3:17 

Psalm 23:4

Deuteronomy 31:8

Revelation 21:3

Psalm 139:7-18

Read: Genesis 1:3

“Let there be light”. This was one thing God created on the first day. The very first thing that was made was Light.

Light is something we use daily; we cannot see without it. From the light of the sun to the light of the moon and stars, to the light of a lamp or a flashlight, we need light. This is the same way we need God.

This profound phrase, “Let There Be Light,” sets the tone for the rest of creation because for anything else to occur in a place where there is darkness, light has to come. God’s desire has always been for the earth to have light. He created different forms of light for different purposes, but His plan was for us to never remain in darkness. Even in the evening season, He still put his stars as a light to shine and guide us to light.

I find myself praying this prayer often in my life: “Lord, let your light shine upon every darkness in my life.” I think this is a necessary prayer for you to pray because it is one that brings revelation. For God to begin to create and call things from what was nothing He had to shine light on it to begin the process of shaping. In our personal lives, there are times when we are unaware of the areas where we need the light of God, and it takes us being intentional about asking to see areas that are buried under the deep, just like the way the earth was formless and empty.

I would like for you to pause here for a moment and say a prayer “God what is that area of my life I need your light to shine”

The Bible describes the state of the earth as darkness. A place with no light but I am convinced that God could see beyond what was in front of him. He is light in himself and He knew that light could exist from that darkness. Since the word of God refers to God as Light, then, I am convinced that we need the light of God in our lives daily. His word says his word is a lamp to our feet and light to our path. For whatever journey, goal, the desire we hope to achieve this year let us remember that we need light in order to create. We desperately need the light of God to shine on every darkness and illuminate our path.  I encourage you to not walk alone this year, don’t walk in darkness, and don’t do life alone. God is light, and He is calling you to not only walk in His light but to let His light guide you to all truth and down the right path.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. Say this prayer: "Lord, let your light shine upon every darkness in my life,” and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you areas of your life where you need his light.

2. How do you plan to be intentional about reading and meditating on the word of God this year?

John 8:12

Psalm 119:105

1 John 1:5

Psalm 27:1

1 Peter 2:9

Genesis 1: 3-29

We see all through the chapter that God was speaking; each time we read “God said.” The entrance of the word of God brings light. One thing the Bible tells us is to speak a thing and it shall be established. This is not only a principle He teaches us, but it is one He also embodied in Genesis 1.

One of the great lessons and principles we see in this first chapter of the Bible is the principle of speaking. God “said”……….. He spoke forth light and we see that it appeared. I believe this established the importance of us speaking the word of God over our lives and situations. The Bible in so many ways reminds us to declare things……..Call forth what you want to see. Just as in the beginning, God spoke and it became, you need to speak so it can become.

The significance of this act of God here is that from what He could see there was nothing that was light, but He called it out of the darkness. The Bible says we should call forth the things that are not as though they were. God said let there be light and then the light was formed from nothing. Wow the power of our words, that God said it, it just became. If we are like our Father, then we also have this same power to decree a thing, and it shall be established. God also shows us his authority, the Bible says he called the light day and the darkness night and there were morning and evening on the first day.

We also see this example in the story of Elijah and the Valley of Dry Bones. God asked him to call the bones back to life, and even though he was surrounded by a valley of lifeless bones, his calling them forth repeatedly caused the power of God to move. The truth is speaking takes faith, we cannot just speak without the faith in our hearts knowing that what we say will come to pass, this faith has to exist even when circumstances do not align but we have to remember our ability in Christ to speak and declare.

As you go through the year, remember the power of God inside you and the ability to decree his word over yourself. This should also remind you to choose your words. If the words you speak have a lot of power, then be mindful and train your tongue. There is so much we possess that we are unaware of, so much power to create, power in our speech, and the more we realize it, the better it is for us.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. In what ways are you going to be intentional about speaking the word of God over your life?

2. As the Holy Spirit gives you the gift of faith to trust and hold on to the word of God in spite of what you see before you.

Hebrews 4:12

Acts 18:9

Proverbs 18:21

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

Genesis 1: 31

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning the sixth day.”

One thing that made me smile all through the reading of Genesis 1 was how everything God created is concluded with the characteristic of “God saw that it was good.” Picture that in your mind for a second. Think about that one time when you spent time creating a meal, all the steps, ingredients, and stirs in the pot; you watch it boil and simmer, you watch the steam shoot through the lid, and you finally open it up when it is all done. It is time for the taste test, you put a fork in and slowly blow over it to allow it to cool down for a few seconds and then you allow it into your mouth. You taste it and smile, and, in your heart, you say to yourself, “This is good.”

I imagine this is how God felt about every single thing He made. As He created light, the waters and the oceans, the land, and the fruits, the creatures and animals, He saw it all and said, “It is good.” But then we see Him climax all of this goodness with one more magnificent creation which He said is in His image. That creation was you and I, man and woman. The epitome of all of the goodness He made was us; the one who is good in Himself decided to make us like Him, and so He calls us good. You are God’s good creation made in His image and His likeness.

Whew……we need to pause to take this in. We need to remember as we go through life that God looks at us and calls us good because Genesis 1 31 says, “God saw all that He has made (including you and me), and it was very good.”

The truth is even in the darkness that was nothing in verse 1, God saw goodness in that emptiness, and it is the same way he sees goodness in you and me. Even when we feel our lives are not good, our situations are not good or we have made a mess of everything, remember He sees goodness in us that just needs to be reordered and restructured just like Genesis 1 He called forth even from what seemed to be formless.

I wondered what the significance of God stating that everything was good after he made each thing was, and then closing out this chapter with that declaration of “it was very good.” The more I ponder on this question, I am led to believe it is because God does not want us to forget that we are good. Our minds play tricks on us, and we sometimes believe the negativity, but we have to remind ourselves that our good God has called us Good, and that’s is that on that!

We are made in the image of our Good God. We are the only thing created in the image of God. This year, embrace His goodness, embrace what His word says about you, that His plans for you are of Good and not evil, that His thoughts towards you are Good, that He made you and smiled and looked upon you with delight. You are His excellent creation. Walk in that light, walk in that understanding, walk in that power, and let the truth of who He is (a Good God) and who you are (His Good creation) guard your hearts and minds against the lies of the enemy to tell you otherwise. You are God’s good possession, my friend.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. Are there times you have felt you were not good enough and why?

2. How does the knowledge that you are made in God’s image and goodness make you feel?

3. Ask that God helps you to always remember who you are in Him and to not give in to the lies of the enemy about who you are not but for your mind to be renewed daily about who He is and who He has said you are.

 Colossians 3:10

Ephesians 4:24

Psalm 139:14

Romans 8:28

Luke 18:19

James 1:17

Jeremiah 29:11

Genesis 1: 7: “So, God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it”

I am so intrigued by Genesis 1, and I hope this journey of you reading it over and over and over will allow you to know God in a new way. One other truth of God that stood out to me as I meditated on Genesis 1 was the importance of separation. God did a lot of separation (light from dark, waters above from waters beneath) there has to be a separation in a season when God is working on you. He separates to create order in your life. He is a God who thrives in order and he wants you to have a life of order.

We often look at times when we go through hard seasons that cause us to retreat as a sort of punishment, but have you ever wondered if God is pruning, separating, and re-ordering the affairs of your life to bring out something so much better than you see now?

The word of God talks about seasons, in Ecclesiastes 3

1 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

From what we can see in this verse and also in Genesis 1, God operates in times and seasons. God has an order of how things are to be and everything works within that order. In this same chapter of Ecclesiastes 3, verse 11 says, “He makes everything beautiful in its own time.” Might I suggest to you that the season of what feels like a cutting, an uprooting, a tearing down, a sadness, or morning silence could be a time of separation? Sometimes, we need a season of separation from the familiar to redirect us and refocus us to see God’s plan for us.

A time of separation does not leave us in emptiness, instead, it calls us to God to a deeper and closer walk with him. It causes us to separate from what we know but to draw closer to the one we need the most. As you go on this year, do not be afraid to yield to the calling of separation because it brings us closer to our creation and produces in us much better fruit than where we were before the separation.

In Genesis 1, we see that if God had not separated the waters from the waters, there would never have been something new, “sky.” If He had not caused a separation of the water under the sky to be gathered into one place, then there would not be something new called “land;” and if land did not exist the no vegetation fruit, or trees. If He has not separated the day and night then there would not be two great lights like the sun, moon, and stars….I can go on and on, but you see what separation yielded something new, something good, something beautiful.

It is not easy for us when God is separating us, but trust that He is about to make something more beautiful out of us and is calling us to himself so we can yield ourselves to his process. When we look at stories of people in the Bible like Joseph or Moses, we see that though they went through hard separation seasons, it was to fulfill God’s greater purpose through them, in them, for them, and ultimately for others.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. Can you identify a season in your life where you could see God was separating you from the familiar?

2. As the Lord help you to be more aware of his voice and direction of his Spirit so you know and yield to his plan for you in every season.

Matthew 14:22-23

Psalm 1:1-6

John 15:4-7

Exodus 3

Read Genesis 1

When we read the story in Genesis 1, one thing we see is that with God there is a process. Even though the chapter started off by telling us that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth” that statement was simply a summary of what things were, a foretelling of the reality of what is about to begin. We see many times in the bible where God says a thing but the reality of it does not take full shape until years to come. We can point to Abraham and see that God promises him a child at 75 in Genesis 12, but the physical manifestation of that promise did not come to life till he was 100 in Genesis 21.

When the bible says He caused all things to work together for our good, it is speaking of process. We learn from Genesis 1 that God was not in a hurry; he was intentional with everything he made, and there was a process to see the fullness of his creation. Could it be that in our lives God is in the process of things? This tells us not to be in a hurry to rush his process.

He is reminding us of the need to exercise patience, the need to trust his process, and trust that sometimes, though it tarries, we should wait because the period of waiting is also a necessary period where He is causing necessary things to take their full course. If God created man before making the plants and animals, then what was a man meant to have dominion over. The process produces perseverance but also produces what is needed to allow us to function in the season of our intended purpose (what we sometimes call the expected end).

Sometimes, we don’t start to produce fruit until a later season, but the fruits of what we produce are based on the seeds planted in the waiting season. A seed planted needs time to grow and a process to become a full tree. God specializes in making something out of nothing. What is that formless or forgotten thing you think can’t be made into something? Trust God’s process hold on to His promises this year, even though it seems to take a while, remind yourself that God took time, and the creation of the world was a process so His plan for you is in process and it will end up beautiful in his own time. Yield to His process.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. Pray that the Lord will give you grace and perseverance to trust His process even when it doesn’t make sense or when it seems delayed.

2. What are ways today you can yield to the process God is doing in your life?

Philippians 1:6

1 Corinthians 14:40

Proverbs 3:1-5

Matthew 24:36

1 Corinthians 2:14

2 Peter 3:8-9 

 Read Genesis 1

 A lot has been said in these past 7 days and I trust the Holy Spirit has been speaking to your heart.

On this final day, I want to close it all out with the importance of focusing on God’s perspective. If nothing else, the book of Genesis has taught me to surrender to the will of the creator. A reminder that I am not in control, a reminder that there is a greater one in charge of all things and He created the earth and everything in it with purpose. So, even in my world as I know it now, the way I can surrender to the will of the creator is by choosing daily to live and see things from his perspective.

For some of us this year we will hit hard situations that will make us question how we can make it through. The Bible describes the earth as empty. For some of us though we are excited about the year, we feel this sense of emptiness due to the fear of what lies ahead. But what looks empty we can see that God sees potential. It is so like God to see chaos and see the purpose in it. Underneath what you see now is God’s masterpiece. The bible describes the earth as without form, lacking any semblance of anything. For some of us, this might be a picture of what our lives look like now or will look like at some point this year. Where we think to ourselves nothing good can come out of this.

This year, I challenge myself and challenge you too to surrender to the perspective of the creator. To always go back to him in every situation and say God what will you have me do? God what is your plan, God what is your purpose in this? In the good, bad, and ugly that we face, God has a plan and purpose, and when we choose to pause and not see this from our worldly and limited perspective but shift our focus to Jesus and see things from his perspective, only then will we surrender to walk in his will. It is not a promise that we will understand all the time, but it allows us to let him fully be with us on this side of life. Remember on the first day I started with the reality of Emmanuel, God is always with us and he wants to be with us through everything we experience in life, more than anything else He wants us to have a relationship with Him and it is from this place of intimacy that we see in part His perspective, plan, will and purpose.

Read and Meditate on these verses and write your response to the following questions:

1. Ask the Lord for the ability to understand his plan and purpose in your life for this year

2. Is there something in your life you are struggling with now? Take a moment pause and ask God to help you see things from his point of view.

Colossians 3:2

2 Corinthians 4:18

Proverbs 14:12 

Romans 8:28

Isaiah 55:8-9 

Jeremiah 29:11