GOD CREATES Posted 9.16.08
What would you do if you were put in a room with nothing but legos, tinker toys, Lincoln logs, and/or play dough? How about a different room with rolls of blank paper, crayons, markers, and paints? What if your kitchen was filled with gourmet ingredients or your workshop with every type of wood-working necessity?
I have no trouble assuming that every one of us would use the items provided to create something. Whether it is a work of art, a common cookie, or just a fun object for play, we all have the ability to make and produce things, to fashion and form a new design, or to originate and build from our imagination. Obviously, some are more gifted than others in certain areas, but our capacity for creativity is great.
I created the most amazing dessert the other day. I put a chocolate chunk brownie in a bowl, covered it with double chocolate fudge ice cream, added some chocolate syrup to solidify the chocolate flavor and topped it with whipped cream. It was delicious!
Was it the most unique, expensive, exquisite, desirable brownie sundae ever invented? No. But it was mine, it was all I wanted it to be, and it was good!
We serve a God who creates in very much the same way-with joy and delight. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Hebrew term translated “created” in this passage always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. Though He can and does create from nothing, the verb often stresses forming anew, reforming, or renewing.
As we read through the account of the entire seven days of creation, God routinely makes note of His work, “And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31). I have a friend who does not like the creatures in the ocean at all and another who thinks every bird is God’s gift just for her. We all interpret and appreciate God’s creation differently, but we cannot dispute what He Himself says, “For everything God created is good” (1 Timothy 4:4).
We must also accept the universality of His creation. “For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things were created by Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).
He creates. He has created, and He continues to create. So where do we fit in? Well, according to Genesis we are the highlight of His creative genius. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Genesis 5:1 adds, “When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.” He created us as an expression of Himself. Wow. Why? Let’s examine Psalm 139, written by King David, for some answers to that question.
God Created Us for Personal Relationship
“This is what the LORD says—He who created you…I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.” Isaiah 43:1
PS 139:1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
PS 139:2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
PS 139:3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
PS 139:4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
PS 139:5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
PS 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
PS 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
PS 139:8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
PS 139:9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
PS 139:10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
PS 139:11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
PS 139:12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
David was so enamored with the intimacy of knowing God. He was not the least bit intimidated or irritated by God’s omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence in his life. He embraced it and enjoyed it. He did not possess full understanding, but spent his lifetime exploring it all. God was His best Friend, His Confidante, and the only One he could trust. God desires a similar relationship with you. He created you for a personal relationship with Him. How are you responding?
God Created Us for a Purpose
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
PS 139:13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
PS 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
PS 139:15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, PS 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
PS 139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
PS 139:18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
Not just one purpose – many. David was fully aware of God’s continual activity in his daily world. God’s vast thoughts mentioned in verse 17 represent His creativity constantly at work in David’s life. God created David to be a shepherd, to be a servant to King Saul, to be King of Israel, to be a husband and father and friend. David missed some of God’s purposes because of his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, but he lived out his desire to be all God wanted him to be by repenting and making amends as led by the Lord. God formed David’s life from conception until death. Who is forming yours?
God Created Us for His Glory
“…everyone who is called by My Name, whom I created for My glory…” Is 43:7
PS 139:19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
PS 139:20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
PS 139:21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you?
PS 139:22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
PS 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
PS 139:24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
For His Glory means with a pure heart.
The purity of David’s heart is shown in his anguish over those who hated God and his desire to be searched inwardly on a regular basis. He wanted nothing to stand in the way of His relationship with the Lord, which again is seen clearly after he had Uriah murdered and was confronted by the prophet Nathan. Though all human beings are created to glorify God in this way, each one has the freedom to choose. What have you chosen? What will you choose today?
For His glory means to be like Him!
“put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” Eph 4:24
The way everlasting mentioned in verse 24 is God’s way. If we walk in His ways He will be glorified. We may not even see it or understand it as we would like, but we can trust His truth that when we are like Him, He is glorified.
I created my brownie sundae for my eating enjoyment. It had no choice but to submit to my craving. God, on the other hand, gives us freedom. He creates relationships, jobs, ministries, and other blessings in our lives, but it is up to us to embrace them and fulfill them.
God created you. He created you for personal relationship, for a purpose and for His glory. He is still creating in and through you. What is He creating and how are you responding?
The Creation Process
Genesis 1 provides a great overview of the creation process by simply looking at the verbs within the first two chapters. For each verb, ponder God in action and then ponder YOU in action in the same way.
God hovers – speaks – separates – calls (names)-makes-sets (arranges)
God blesses-gives-rests
God forms-breathes-plants-puts-commands
God causes man to sleep – takes rib – closes up – makes woman-brings to man
How to create –use your imagination-use materials at hand – think outside the box-include your tastes and preferences-include something fresh and new
What is God creating in your life? What is He urging you to create?
GOD CREATES
1. Create something this week and enjoy it! For example – a handmade card, a special dessert, a gift, a book, a scarf or other clothing item, a new word, a new friendship, a game, a job, a prayer, a praise, a journal, a devotional, a word of encouragement, a work of art, a meal, a schedule…what else?
2. Write down different things God has created in your life, how you’ve responded, and some of the results.
For example:
Your family: activities He’s created for you to do together, interests He’s created within each one of you and you all as a group.
Your work: relationships He has created there; opportunities He’s created there for ministry and success in your work.
Your ministry: relationships He has created there; opportunities He has created and ideas He gives.
3. Write down different things God is creating in your life right now and how you are responding.
For example: new relationships, new ministry opportunities, new business ideas/opportunities; a book, a song, a journal, a project, a volunteer opportunity.
4. Verses for further study: Study them with a focus on our God who creates. What is God teaching you about “creating” in these verses?
Genesis 1
Psalm 104
Isaiah 41-43
Isaiah 54
Ephesians 2
Colossians 1:15-23
1 Timothy 4:1-5
5. Read through the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2. Examine each verb or verb phrase attributed directly to God as He was creating. How is He working in your life with those same verbs or verb phrases? How does He want you to join with Him in those activities?