God at Work

Creating Order

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

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.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light…

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”…

Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear; …

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seeds, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth; …

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; …

Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind; cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”: …

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …” Genesis 1:1-26

Genesis 1 takes us through a tapestry of God’s creativity. From nothing God produced the most creative artistry ever! It must have been exciting, I imagine – filling up this blank slate of earth with creatures of all kinds including an atmosphere in which they would thrive. It is very interesting how God went about it.

I believe He could have spoken everything into existence in one word or sentence, yet He took His time to place everything in order and in the way that He knew would be most appropriate. He created light, the atmosphere, separated water from land, filled the water and air with living things, added living creatures on earth and finally, the ultimate creation of man in His image.

God not only created the heavens and the earth and all that is therein, but also created a system and order. We see this attribute consistently repeated in the way God worked throughout the Bible. I believe this is the same of us. He works systematically in our lives leading us to our destiny and His intended purpose for our lives. The paths He leads us through ultimately bring us to a place where we recognise that everything was working for our good and for a purpose. Interestingly, He uses even our wrong turns to take us back to the place we need to be when we realise our folly and surrender to His leading.

System and order are also key elements to success. This is not just about keeping our desks or homes clean and orderly, it is about how we plan and execute our work. Sometimes we are in such a hurry to get results and meet targets, thus end up cutting corners.

Whatever our responsibilities are at work or at home, system and order keep us focused, enable us manage our affairs effectively and provide a framework for us to measure our progress. For instance efficient housewives or homemakers are masters of system and order as that determines how well their day goes as they prepare their families for work and school, prepare meals and handle school runs. And to think that most people frown on women who do not work.

Most of us cannot manage our diaries – we barely manage to attend all meetings and hardly keep up with our plans. There is always so much to do – or perhaps we plan too many things for our selves.

The other lesson we learn from the story of creation is that God was strategic in placing things on earth. Each element was necessary for the existence of the following elements. When we consider how we work, how strategic are we. Do we spend time doing unnecessary things because we were not strategic enough to avoid repeating things and going back and forth? How frustrating is it to waste time, energy and other resources chasing things needlessly, if only we had been more systematic?

Each day, week, month or year is our personal blank slate for us to improve our effectiveness and use the time we have been given more effectively through system and order. Here is our chance to learn from the Master Planner!