Devotional - January 21, 2026
Scripture: Genesis 1: 2 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.
If one lives long enough, they realize how fragile life is, and the many ways it is fragile. People may not show it, but their hopes and dreams can shatter in a moment of time. Even the hardiest traveler on life's way can grow weary and tired. The light in their eyes dims. Some would say, that is what a good dose of reality can do. It's good for you! All you need to do is ensure you can take care of yourself, have a little fun in the process, and mind your own business. Leave everything else to others. It's their recipe for not getting hurt (...which we all know does not work). The problem is, when you do it, you relinquish a lot of control to others. We see the problems and needs that surround us, and like the priests and levites in Jesus' parable about the Samaritan, we side-step it and cross to the other side (Luke 10: 25-37). In today's text, the Spirit of God was closely hovering, moving, brooding over the situation below. The Spirit was not happy with what It was seeing. The Spirit of God was doing many things, except leaving. There was a need here and God would work on the situation to bring it to a good end, but first God needed to see and understand the situation. In our haste and worry, we bob and duck our way through, trying to avoid the misfortunes and miseries of life. God doesn't do that, God stops, looks, and understands what is going on, and then does something about it. We tend to think stopping is a bad thing. Instead, we go faster and faster, trying not to see because we are afraid of what might be there. We think, if we just keep going it won't catch us, even though we know it is still there, laying deep under the cover of darkness. I know it is hard to slow down. We don't want to get caught-up in a mess. I too adhere too much to the ideology of going faster, but let's challenge ourselves to be aware of this tendency. By slowing down and seeking to understand, we are not committing ourselves to anything. We are still neutral, but we are learning. We are free to hear and ponder any and all sides of the situation. Then, when we decide to act, it is in an informed way and we can explain the reasoning behind our actions. Even if we make a mistake, people can understand how we got there. Understanding, and being understanding, of others and the situations we find ourselves in is a powerful position. To understand does not mean viewing the situation from below, the ideology behind the word is better understood if it is expressed as inter-standing. Standing in the midst of, immersed, or in between, so you can get a good look at what is going on. Pausing to do so can make all the difference in the world. How often I have reacted to a situation because I took something either too personally or too lightly I care not to remember, but the word countless would suffice. In our walk with God this year, let's slow our roll a bit and be mindful of our surroundings and the situations we encounter.
Pray with me.., LORD remind us of Your greatness and care for us. Help us to calm our spirits, stop scrambling about, and loosen our grip on life. Help us to hear Your words, "fear not." Hear us as we pray for loved ones. Bless them we pray in accordance with their needs. We continue to ask Your blessing on our church, so we can be the blessing You call us to be, in Jesus' name, Amen
God’s Peace,
Pastor Brian
