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“O Lord how manifold are Your works!  In wisdom You have made them all.  The earth is full of Your possessions.”  Psalm 104 (NKJV)

Don’t know if you are like me or not, but as January 1 rolls in I sense a great need to declutter. Absolutely love the holidays yet my house often gets neglected for the pursuit of fun evenings out, family gatherings, church celebrations, shopping, etc.  Disorder always seems to reign high even when the last holiday decoration is packed away.  Perfect reason why I have an overwhelming desire to reign in chaos and return to my pre-holiday life.  Could be my obsession with minimalist podcasts, but disorder and chaos never serve me well.

Turning chaos into order isn’t just a minimalist idea it actually is a God idea.  From the very beginning, God took what was void (empty), formless and created it into the beautiful world we enjoy today. This word create isn’t just someone making something – in the Hebrew it is bara which refers only to divine activity.  No one could ever create in a way that Yahweh divinely creates.  And the verb form of bara also conveys the idea of ordering or determining function. God’s creative work brought proper order and function setting perfect boundaries into place.  The earth fully satisfied with the fruit of God’s works and full of His glorious possessions (Psalm 104:13, 24).

Now that sweet friends is exactly how God creates beauty and glory out of our empty lives.  We were created with a deep longing that only He can satisfy, and God specializes in filling the void stirring within us. Oh there’s lots of things we may seek to occupy what our souls long for, but the temporary satisfaction will always leave us more hollow and barren than we ever imagined. The reality of our meaningless pursuits showcases the desperate need of our hearts.

Our Heavenly Father promises eternal satisfaction. Sweet longings filled in abundance and overflowing.  His divine creative work in us exceeds our dreams.  From the moment we place our faith and trust in God, He redeems our story and brings our lives back into proper order.  Our barren places come back to life flourishing in His presence conveying the good works He planned in advance for us – we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 57:2).

Sweet friends as we travel through another year, we can easily fill our days with lots of activities, good things not necessarily bad.  We can attempt to stuff those empty places in our soul with people pleasing, performance,  rituals, etc.  However, if we truly desire to experience the beauty God longs to birth within us then we must strategically welcome His invitation to gather at His feet, dive deep into His Word and embrace His bara (divine creative) work in our hearts.  And the end result will be a glorious filling of our God which always satisfies.

“Father, our lives are full yet empty.  Our thoughts are distracted and often consumed with lesser things than what serves us well.  We desperately need Your order over our chaos.  Perfect our boundaries and teach us to be satisfied in You alone.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life