Genesis Chapter 1 is about the history of creation and verses 1-2 set the stage:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
In the first two verses we learn that God is the Creator of the heavens and earth (period). The earth had no form, it was empty/void, nothing, darkness was on the face of the deep. Then the Bible says, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. That means Holy Spirit was active in the beginning. In verses 3-31, the story of creation unfolds. If you read Chapter 1, you will find that God created the earth and everything in it in six days. God rested on the 7th day (blessed the day and sanctified it—it’s holy).
Day 1 – Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Day 2 – Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” (the sky)
Day 3 – Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”. Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth” (earth, seas, plant life)
Day 4 – Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth” (sun, moon, stars, galaxy)
Day 5 – Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” (sea creatures and birds)
Day 6 – Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind.” Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (creatures on dry land and man)
I believe in the beginning, they (Adam and Eve) were made in the perfect representation of God in mind, body and spirit. They were whole, there was nothing missing or broken in their lives.
The common theme during the creation of the earth, living creatures, and man is:
1)Then God said
2) and it was so
3) And God saw that it was good
The history of creation demonstrates and shows us that when God speaks, something happens, shifts, and manifests causing formless things come to alive. God literally used words to create the world. According to Isaiah 55:11, God’s word does not return to Him void.
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Genesis 1:31 reads, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Indeed means that it was definitely, truly, really good. Undeniably good. When God looks at His creation, He sees good. Therefore, you are good. God took time making you, fashioning you in His image and His likeness. God spoke everything into existence, except man because He formed man from the dust of the earth.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
That’s why Job said, “The breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4). And Psalm 139:14 says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Since we are made in His image and His likeness, we are good. It’s because God is good. That’s the expectation and original intent for humanity: goodness. There are numerous scriptures that speak to the goodness of God:
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:5)
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. (Psalm 86:5)
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 107:1, 118:1, 136:1).
Once again, the Lord is good. Therefore you are good, sons and daughters of the Most High God. We are little gods; we’re like our Father in Heaven. We were designed to make good things and do good things. We were designed to see goodness and speak life (not death). When we make a decision to believe God, reverence Him, accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and acknowledge that He died on the cross for the remission of our sins, we step into righteousness. We give God full access and supernaturally connect and align with the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), who was hovering over the face the deep in the beginning—the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Then His goodness comes alive in us; it rests on us and flows through us. Goodness is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). You’re not good on your own, not by your own doing, it’s by the Spirit of God. Without God who are you? Who am I? Jesus said that apart from Him we can doing nothing. (John 15:5).
I’m saying that you are good because the enemy would try to deceive you into thinking that you are a wicked (twisted), horrible, disgusting person. But you are made in His image and His likeness. That’s why there was a plan of salvation put in place when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Our Father in Heaven made us like Him, and even though they were deceived and were cast out of the Garden, He saw fit for humanity to be reconciled back to Him. That plan of redemption was Jesus being sacrificed on the cross for you and me, the shedding of His precious blood for the remission of our sins. When that happened, a new covenant was established, and we stepped back into our rightful place as sons and daughters of the Most High God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)
There are other gods and idols that people worship, but our Father in Heaven is the Most High God. He is the God of gods, the King of kings and Lord of lords. This is why I can look at a person and see goodness. You are covered by the blood of Jesus. The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once again, God created You and in Genesis 1:31, it says that everything He made is good.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God says He has good thoughts toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Chapter 29 is Jeremiah’s letter (the word of the Lord) to the captives who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon. Starting in Verse 5 God tells them to build, multiply, and seek peace of the city. After a set time, He promised to visit them and bring them back home to Jerusalem, which brings us to verses 11-13:
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
This is a prophetic book, showing us that God won’t leave His creation, His loved ones in bondage. Even in this day and age, He still says, build, multiply, and seek the peace of the city. He has plans for you, peace, not evil. To give you future and a hope. Giving you a future, providing for you and protecting you. Something for you to look forward to, something to believe in, faith.
In closing, I want you to know and believe that you are good. I did not say that you are perfect. I said that you are good. Your life has meaning. Your life has purpose. Your life is important. And all things are working together for your good. It’s all good. The Bible says that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he or she obtains favor from the Lord. If you still don’t believe there is goodness in you, pray and ask God, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, to show you who you are in Him. As sons and daughters of the Most High God, you have a right to pray and ask for forgiveness, protection, blessings, favor, healing and deliverance–every benefit that comes with salvation.
I pray that you will meditate on the goodness and mercy of God. When you do that, you will have the desire to be good, do good, and keep His commands (obey).
Pray these encouraging Psalms:
Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. (Psalm 143:10)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
