New
beginnings are never easy. They are full of unknowns, fears, learning, vulnerability,
and a certain excitement in it all. I am in this process right now. Along with
beginning my masters (Th.M) studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, this week I
began a new job, moved to a new city, met new friends, and yes, even began a
new blog. I’ve just undergone a whole-life overhaul, and many of you have
experienced something of the same.
I even got a
new Bible. My trusty old NIV Study Bible in its green and mesh cover no longer
enters my day as the one familiar item from the past ten years. Even in India I
had this comfort, the connection to my thoughts from years past. But thankfully
God’s Word remains the same.
I began
reading my new ESV Study Bible, turning pages to start in the book of Genesis:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
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.”
I opened up
my new journal to try out a new commitment to studying the Bible rather than just reading it, and, writing out my
observations, found a new truth I haven’t seen before, probably because I am in
my own new beginning.
In the
beginning the earth was “without form and void”—that’s what my life has felt
like with no structure of habits, friends, etc. Up until this week it was all
in the darkness. Deep darkness. I didn’t have a clue where I would work. I didn’t
know what seminary would be like. I didn’t know anyone. I still don’t know
where I’ll live.
But right
there in the midst of the deep waters, the Spirit of God is present.
Even though
new things in my new life are still taking form, God’s Spirit is there,
guiding, protecting, providing, so that I do not have to worry. I never did
have to worry, because God created me and loves me as His creation.
The story in
Genesis gets even better in the next verse: God creates light. Metaphorically, I’m getting a glimpse of that now… light has
been shed in my job search, and now I’m employed. I’m getting a feel for what
seminary will be like. I’m learning my way around Dallas. But even more than knowledge
of my life, I can walk in light from
following Jesus the Christ. He says, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever
follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Now
that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!
The light
Jesus brings is life, and life abundant. At the end of the Bible, Jesus says, “Behold,
I am making all things new.” Newness is not bad. It’s quite good, and it’s an
opportunity for God to teach us, mold us and use us in ways we never could have
imagined in our old lives.
