In the beginning

I haven't done my devotional in awhile.  Like many I fall off from reading my word every now and again.  But God sends people to encourage you to get back in it.  Get back to studying God's word and get back to praying.  He sends people to remind you that God is up to something big in  your life.  Thank you Joye and Luana.  Sometimes we can let a statement like "God is up to something big in your life" because cliche' in our minds.  Like "Yeah, yeah heard it all before".  But when you just stop and think about the God that we serve.  I mean my favorite book in the bible is Genesis.  And everytime I try to read the bible from beginning to end I get stuck on the 1st verse of the bible.  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".  While it know there is so much more to God's story, I just feel like this speaks proportions of who God is.  When you think about the vast expanse of the heavens.  When you think about the seasons and how everything works here on earth to sustain life.  There is just so much packed into that first verse of the bible, you could create a lifelong ministry just based on that 1 verse.  And then it says "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".  WOW!  Scientists have their own ideas about this earth and how it was formed.  But when you think about the fact that God was here before the earth, before the heavens.  He was here, He has always been here.  You can't even fathom with your mind what such a statement.  It's too big!  But by the grace of God we can know and believe it's true.  So yes, God is up to something big in my life.  God is in the business of doing big and beautiful things because it's part of His nature.  But God is also in the business of building relationships which is part of His nature as well, and even seems to mean more to him then doing the big amazing things in our lives.  In fact maybe God thinks that having a relationship with His people is the most amazing thing of all.  Life can kind of seem unexciting, unimaginative, uneventful at times.  I can't help but remember what God did "In the beginning".  When I look outside my window I see the product of what God did "In the beginning".  Ever since I was a little girl I loved the book of Genesis.  I use to get my stepmother to read me the story of Adam and Eve over and over again.  While I appreciate the whole Word of God (Old and New Testament) I have a special affection for the Old Testament.  That's is where I get the wisdom for the discipline of my life.  That's where I get the wisdom on how to be sober.  The Israelites went through alot, and they were God's chosen people.  There life wasn't full of excitement and fireworks from heaven.  David, the man "after God's own heart". After he was annointed King, he spent a good amount of time running from Saul who sought to take his life.  He was a annointed King a long time before he was actually even able to sit on the throne and officially assume his role. He was a man of war so he probably spent more time on the battlefield than in the palace.  Then later on in life he had to flee again from his own son.  David spent alot of time running for his life and hiding in caves and such.  He spend a lot of time on the battlefield.  Sure he had some celebrations and victories but mostly David had struggles and that is the authentic life of someone who follows Christ.