God Is Still Creating Your Life

Brothers and sisters, today I would like, as they say, to share the second part of the message I shared last Wednesday, and for those who were not here last Wednesday, here is a brief summary: last week we were talking about failure as the womb of success, recognizing that many times when we begin new things, such as the New Year, we may encounter some very difficult things in different areas of our lives, and many times we think that failing in those areas is the most terrible thing that can happen.

But in God’s way of thinking, that becomes a seedbed where He can do something great and greater in our lives. We looked at the example of biblical figures who, you could say, failed at some point in their lives, and how God raised them to new heights, to new levels. And the message we left with was the fact that we too, as we go through life, are going to face our failures, and we cannot be afraid of those things; instead, we must face them courageously and in the power of God, so that we can come to know those new dimensions to which God wants to take each one of us.

That is why today I wanted to reflect on this second portion of this message, which has to do with that continual development of God’s purpose and calling in the midst of our lives. The title I gave today’s message is “God Is Still Creating Your Life.” Think about that: God is at work, continuing to create your life. God is shaping every detail involved in who you are, and God is using all the elements around you to create in you the woman, the man, whom He wants to forge in your person. And today I was inspired by an email sent to me by a sister from the church here about a reading based on Genesis, which has to do with those first steps in God’s creation of the world.

How many of you know Genesis chapter 1, verse 1? What does Genesis chapter 1, verse 1 say? What does it say? “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” That is the first sentence that appears in the Bible. And I began looking into this, and it is very interesting because many interpreters, when they see those words saying that God created the heavens and the earth, do not necessarily say that God created heaven and the planet Earth as such, but that God formed the entire cosmos, placing different planets and different galaxies where each one belonged. And in the midst of all that, He came upon this sphere, this sphere which, if I look at verse 2—look at what it says: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep.”

Look at how interesting it is that there is a kind of contrast between these two images. On the one hand, we see those initial stages of God creating, God forming, God putting His hand into it and making something out of what was not there. But although God had begun to form that initial creation, it still had no form; it was disordered, it was filled with darkness, it did not yet have a complete essence. And perhaps I am going to say something here that would make many Bible interpreters say, “Omar, you are interpreting it incorrectly,” but I am going to take this risk. I believe it is going to make a lot of sense to us.

You know, many times we have read this passage and thought, “Wow, how beautiful—God creating the earth.” But sometimes we do not stop to think, “Wow, that initial touch was kind of incomplete; something was missing.” How interesting it is if I now bring that thought into our lives, because many times we can say that we can see or feel that we have received an initial touch from God in our lives, but things still remain somewhat disordered. The situation still looks kind of dark, kind of chaotic; things have not yet fallen into place. And one tends to think—or the tendency is to think:

“But if God has laid His hand on me, why haven’t things fallen into place once and for all? If I surrendered my life to the Lord, why do I still have problems with my husband or my wife? Why do I still have problems with my children? Why does my neighbor keep making my life miserable with all that nonsense over there? Why? Do these things follow me wherever I go?” It is that very idea of thinking, “I thought that if I surrendered my life to the Lord, if I said, ‘Lord, come into my heart,’ then—boom—everything would be fixed all at once. I thought that this addiction I had would—bam—just go away. I thought that constantly speaking badly would—bam—just leave me, and look, I am still doing it! Ooh! Beep, beep, beep—censored, censored.”

Verse 2 goes on to say, “Although the earth was disordered, empty, and in darkness, the Spirit of God was moving over it.” How interesting it is to know that even when things may seem disordered and empty to us, God is there. I may think that the situation in my life looks somewhat dark, with no hope; nevertheless, God has another plan. Do you know that the Bible contains many images that can speak about this—about how God’s presence dwelt among the people even when they thought He was not there? When God’s people were in the wilderness, God was with them during the day as a cloud and during the night as a pillar of fire—the presence of God. When Moses encountered the bush, God was in that bush. Elijah—I really like this one—after everything he did, fled to Mount Orem. How did the presence of God manifest itself?

In an earthquake, in a consuming fire, or in a gentle whisper? Jesus and His disciples were on a mountain in the middle of the night. Everyone had already gone to sleep, and suddenly there was this revelation: three figures with Jesus, and Jesus was completely transfigured before His disciples. The presence of God was there. And in the same way, my brothers and sisters, no matter how dark your night may be, no matter how disordered your life may appear, no matter how empty and meaningless you may feel right now, God is there. The Spirit of God is there, hovering over your life, contemplating everything you are, seeing everything you have, examining the different people around you, and seeing how best to move all those parts so that everything works out well for you.

The most beautiful thing, my brothers and sisters, about this story—my brothers and sisters, I do not want to paint a very dark scene here—is that in the midst of that disorder, that emptiness, that darkness, we must wait for the next word that God decrees in the time of prayer. Verse 3 says, “And God said.” What did He say? “Let there be light.” You must wait for the light, for God to decree that time of light in your life. Look, perhaps you are now living in a season filled with light, and I give glory to God for that. But at that time in creation, when God realized that things were a little dark and gloomy, He said, “Look, let Me do something to create a contrast here.” And it is interesting because when He spoke those words, “Let there be light”—and this is where I say many interpreters will not agree with me—if I clearly understand that He Himself is that Word made flesh, then I am sure that when He said, “Let there be light,” what He did was stand in the midst of that darkness and Himself illuminate everything that was happening there. That is the light I believe God is going to bring into your life, into the midst of your circumstances.

It is not that someone is going to light a candle for you. It is not that someone is going to turn on a flashlight. It is not that they are going to take a lighthouse from over there in Boston and shine it throughout your entire house. Rather, God Himself is going to make His presence known in your life. That Word made flesh is going to speak a word of light over your life, and He is the One who is going to shine in the midst of that darkness. Listen, where God is, there is freedom; where there is light, everything begins to fall into place. So I encourage you, my brother, my sister: this moment in your life is crucial. Whenever I stand here speaking these words, I look at your faces, and I cannot help thinking—or at least imagining—the different circumstances you are going through in your lives.

I can see that many of you are saying, “Yes, amen,” to the words I am speaking, but I also imagine that many of you are going, “Hmm, I am not quite ready to say amen to that yet.” But do you know what? The time of light will come. I am not going to bring that light; God Himself is going to bring that light. God Himself is going to shine into your situation. God Himself is going to shine into your mind. If it is up here, if this head is what is disordered and empty, God is going to shine right there. If it is your heart that is disordered, dark, and empty, God is going to shine right there. If it is your body that, in one way or another—perhaps because of the guilt you may feel—makes you say, “I am not worthy; my body is disordered, dark, and empty,” God Himself can shine His light.

Now, what are you going to believe? Are you going to believe that God is shining His light into your life? Or are you going to believe, “It is what it is; I cannot do anything else about this”? Hmm, let me think for a moment. This happens at times. Do you know why I say this, my brothers and sisters? Because one of the things I mentioned last Wednesday is that there will inevitably be situations that will not necessarily work out the way one would like, and there will be losses. It is not that I am becoming a prophet of bad things; I am only stating reality. But even in the midst of those losses, God can enter there and bring a new form to the emptiness left behind. God can bring a new form to that area of your life. God can give new meaning and a new direction to your life.

I cannot do it as a pastor. A psychologist cannot do it. A psychiatrist cannot do it. Your best male friend or your best female friend cannot do it, but He can. I encourage you—let us stand. This message will be continued, but for now I want you to leave with this word of affirmation: does not the Bible itself say that God is light? I believe it. I believe that He is bringing a new time in which His light will shine upon each of our lives. I look at some of you, and I know that perhaps your life at this present time did not begin the way you expected, but God is bringing a new light. That is what I choose to believe: that God is bringing a new light upon your life, upon your family, upon your loved ones, your work, and your inner struggles. God is bringing a new light. How will things turn out?

I know that according to the account of creation, everything falls into its proper order. And do you know what is most beautiful of all? God ends by saying that it was good. God created the light and said, “How good it is.” He divided the waters from the land and said, “How good it is.” He created the animals and said, “How good it is.” He created man and said, “How good it is.” And when He saw the man alone, He said, “That is not too good,” and then He made it better when He brought him his companion. What God is going to do in your life will be good. Believe it. Father, we look to You tonight, and we believe with all our strength, with all our heart, and with all our mind that what You are going to do will be good, will be delightful, and will be Your own glory in our lives.

I ask You, Lord, to let this word reach deep into the heart of each of my brothers and sisters. You know our darkness. You know the disorder that may be within us, but we say, “Lord, let there be Your light. Bring Your light. Bring Your presence. You are light. You shine upon our darkness. You appear in the midst of our lives, and remove, Lord, all those things that rob our being of meaning. Bring Your meaning. Bring Your purpose. Bring Your direction. Bring Your encouragement. Bring joy. Bring peace. Bring love. Bring vision. Bring creativity. Lord, bring all Your qualities; may they become a reality in the midst of our lives.” Even though it hurts, we believe that what You bring will be good, will be good, will be good, will be good, Lord, because You are good, Lord, and forever. To You we give all the glory and honor tonight. Thank You for Your word. Hallelujah, amen and amen. Thank You, Jesus.