The Light of God in Genesis 1

I don’t know about you, but whenever I decide I’m going to read the whole Bible, I start with Genesis 1.

I guess that is my human nature, to try to read God’s Word like a book instead of a library of life-giving words from God.

Because of this, I must have read the first few chapters of Genesis hundreds of times in my life.

I know that God’s Word is the living word because after reading it hundreds of times, all it took was one comment from my five-year-old son to change my whole perspective of Genesis 1.

“Wow Mom,” he said, “That first part of the Bible sure talks about light a lot.”

In an instant, Genesis 1 changed for me. I had always glossed over the beginning of Genesis 1 to get to the “good stuff”: all the exciting parts of creating land and oceans and animals out of nothing. But in just one sentence, I all of a sudden saw Genesis 1 in a different light- in the light of Christ, appearing within the first few sentences of the Bible.

Five messages that Genesis 1 gives about light

1. God is always in darkness.
2. God can so easily create light out of any situation that seems to have no light.
3. Darkness comes before light.
4. Darkness does not come from God.
5. All good things come from God.

1. God is always in darkness.

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.

Genesis 1:2

Before light was created, God was hovering over the darkness. He was not one with the darkness, but He hovered over it, ready to bring light.

God wants to do the same for you. In a dark situation, God is there, hovering over you, ready to bring light to the situation.

2. God can so easily create light out of any situation that seems to have no light.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 

Genesis 1:3

This verse is beautifully simple. Darkness was everywhere on the earth. But in a moment, everything changed.

Our situation is never hopeless when we allow God to be a part of it. The moments that we think are impossible? God can change those in an instant. Our creator of light is there, ready to get close to us.

3. Darkness comes before light

God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:5

We have created our days like this: we wake up in the morning, when the sun is rising, and live our day until the setting of the sun at night.

However, Genesis 1 tells us we have this idea backwards.

There was evening, and then there was morning.

Darkness comes before the light, and that’s okay. That is how God intended it.

Whenever you find yourself in a dark place, keep one thing in mind: God intended darkness before the light. That just makes the light of God all more powerful and meaningful when it arrives!

4. Darkness does not come from God.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. (emphasis added)

Genesis 1:14-16

How amazing is it that our God is so full of light that He made created “light” and “lesser light”?

Not darkness, lesser light.

No darkness ever comes from God.

God created day and night, but He did not create light and darkness. Instead, He created light from darkness.

God never wants anything bad to happen in your life. Yet due to the later part of the creation story, there is sin in the world. God keeps it this way in order for us to have free will, so we can truly love Him instead of our love for Him being forced. Sin created a broken world, not God.

Yet God can create any light from darkness. Anything that is dark in our lives, we can turn it to God so He can make it good.

5. All good things come from God.

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

Genesis 1:31

Everything that God made was good. Everything was dark, and God brought light and life to this world.

He can do the same for you.

In a time that may be seem impossible, I pray that you cling to the light of Christ and all that He has in store for you!

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Jessie Synan is a social media strategist for Christian writers and ministries. She is obsessed with the idea of digital discipleship- bringing the good news of Jesus to the digital world. She leads Pray With Confidence, a community of 30+ women all over the world who help busy women overcome prayer obstacles. Learn more at their Facebook page.