Hover

I’ve thought about painting this moment for a long time but it’s so significant and mysterious that I haven’t known how to attempt it.  Genesis 1:2, regarding God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, says,

“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.” (KJV)

Here's another translation:

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (ESV)

Whoa, stop and read those again!

I get flutters through my body when I pause here and let my mind wander.

The Spirit of God himself was thick, swirling, and heavy over the water.  There is no sun, no light.  Time doesn’t exist yet.  How long did God hover here?  That’s not the right question to ask, I suppose, but time is the only way I know how to make sense of anything.  An infinite moment is impossible for me to comprehend.  What was happening there between God and the waters?  It’s like He was steeping the earth in his Spirit and ruminating over what was to come. 

God could have decided to not move forward from this moment; To remain a perfect Trinity without outside conflict.  He could have stopped and protected Himself from the heartache that the world would surely bring Him.  But He didn’t.  He hovered over the waters and then He moved forward with creating, saying, “It is good,” after each progression. 

His love for us, which doesn’t know time, couldn’t be contained. 

God’s foreknowledge of people and nations denying him and falling back into idolatry over and over again didn't stop Him from creating.  His plan was bigger than the whole world’s sin combined.  His love and mercy would not be stopped. 

This moment of The Spirit hovering over the waters is so peaceful and powerful for me. 

It’s a perfect and rhythmic movement of water and air.  It’s not bound by time and it’s not pressed by sin;  But it must have been completely saturated by God’s longing to love.

It’s God hovering and already knowing, “What I am about to do is very, very good.”

-A