“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” 
— Genesis 1:2 

We often expect beginnings to be beautiful, organized, and exciting. But the Bible begins in the dark. It starts in tohu wa-bohu—formless and void, a place of chaos, confusion, and emptiness. 

There’s a strange comfort in this. The Holy Spirit didn’t wait until the earth was polished and pretty to show up. He was already there—in the dark, in the deep, in the mess. God doesn’t need a perfect beginning to write a glorious ending. 

• Tohu – Waste. Desolate. Confused. Unformed. 

• Bohu – Empty. Hollow. Void of life. 

This is not poetic window dressing. It’s a deep truth: the earth was not perfect when God began working on it—and neither are we. 

Have you ever felt like your life was in a tohu wa-bohu state? 

• A diagnosis that shook you? 

• A relationship that shattered? 

• A faith that feels faded? 

Here’s the truth: the presence of chaos does not mean the absence of God. The verse goes on: “And darkness was upon the face of the deep…” No light. No stars. No horizon. Just watery chaos—tehom in Hebrew—a deep, unfathomable abyss. Yet God wasn’t intimidated. There was no cosmic war like in pagan myths. God didn’t fight the darkness. He hovered over it. 

He hovered. “And the Spirit of God moved (hovered) upon the face of the waters.” 

The Hebrew word merachefet paints the image of a mother bird brooding over her young. Waiting. Warming. Preparing. The Spirit wasn’t panicking. He wasn’t pacing. He was present. Still. Hovering. That’s how God moves. Quiet. Intentional. Brooding with purpose over the very places we fear are too messy, too broken, too dark. Your chaos is not the end of your story—it may be the raw material of your miracle. 

1. Where is your life feeling formless or void right now? 

• Is there a place that feels empty of purpose? 

2. Are you mistaking darkness for absence? 

• Just because you can’t see God doesn’t mean He’s not hovering. 

3. Can you trust the process of creation—even when it’s slow? 

• Like a potter with clay or a hen with eggs, God works in the waiting. 

Genesis 1:2 is not just cosmology—it’s theology. It whispers the gospel in its very structure: 

• Chaos → Cosmos 

• Darkness → Light 

• Void → Life 

• Spirit → Word → Creation 

Just as God brought order out of the primeval mess, so Jesus brings new creation out of our brokenness. 

 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and behold, the new has come.” 
— 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Jesus stepped into the deepest chaos—sin, shame, death—and came out of the tomb as the Firstborn of the new creation. 

Father, You see my chaos and you don’t flinch.You see my darkness and you don’t run. You hover. You brood. You wait with patient love, preparing to speak life over me. Help me to trust You in the unformed places, to believe that even when I don’t see light, Your Spirit is moving. 
Speak again, Lord. Let there be light. 
In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Before there was light, there was God. 
Before there was order, there was God. 
Before there was you, there was a plan. 

And before you see the miracle, there is always the hovering. Don’t despise the darkness. God does His best work in it.