Day 1 :: Genesis {A God of Promises}

The first words of the Bible burst forward with the hope and joy of what this world is meant to be. Light. Life. Perfection. After speaking the earth, the sun, the soil, the fish, animals, and finally human beings into existence, God looked around at it all and with a contented sigh stated: It is very good.

In the midst of this goodness are two people, not much different than you and me, who are blessed with the gift of seeing God face to face. In perfect relationship with Him, they walk freely, without shame. No knowledge of pain. No concept of sin. They live and thrive in Eden, the land God created for them.

But when given the choice to trust God or not, to obey Him or not, they choose to stray.

And so do we.

Despite our greatest wishes at times, we turn our back on Him, and taste the forbidden fruit.

The result? Separation from God manifested in physical and spiritual death.

We experience the results of the fall day to day and acutely in the pains of motherhood. The pain of childbirth gone wrong. C-sections. Tears. Sickness. Surgeries. NICUs.

It’s not supposed to be this way.

Going home we struggle with postpartum depression. Bloody nipples. Sleepless nights. Colic. Acid reflux. Allergies to the most basic foods.

It’s not supposed to be this way.

We experience this death within ourselves as we sin against our spouses and children. Anger boils over to rage, resentment, and bitterness. We are selfish in our wants as we face the harsh reality that we may never experience what we want again. If we stop to look at ourselves, we are disappointed by our sin and cry out, I am not supposed to be this way!

In her compelling book Searching for Sunday, Rachel Held Evans writes:

“I’m a Christian… because Christianity names and addresses sin. It acknowledges the reality that the evil we observe in the world is also present within ourselves. It tells the truth about the human condition – that we’re not okay.” (kindle p 85, emphasis mine)

In Genesis, God promises to do something about our condition. Though we have strayed and chosen death, God will bring us back to life.

He begins with one man.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

God promises that blessing and life will reign again.

God promises to undo the effects of sin. To restore that which was lost so that we would no longer live under the effects of sin, but live again the life of God.

If we keep these four promises in mind as we read the narratives in Genesis, we can sense the conflict within the story: Will God be faithful to His promises? Will God give Abraham even one child from which a line of descendants can be born? Will the people be able to settle in the land God called them to? Will the people of God be faithful to Him? And when they aren’t, what will He do about it?

When we arrive to the grand story of Joseph and his amazing technicolored dreamcoat (amazing soundtrack, by the way), it seems that the Abraham’s children are far from faithful to God. From the brothers’ murder attempt of their brother Joseph, to Judah’s tumultuous relationship with Tamar, to the move of the family to Egypt (far from the land God called Abraham to), all seems lost.

But God

These two words at the close of Genesis bring us back to focus not on the people of the story, but on God’s action in their lives.

God will do what He says He will do. He promised a people. They are only beginning to be born. He promised land. They will return. He promised relationship with Himself. They will have it. He promises blessing to the nations. He will deliver.

God works in the entire story for good.

This is only the beginning…

Come back for tomorrow’s devotion Day 2 :: Exodus {Redeemer}