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. Genesis 1:2
We know from Genesis 1:2 that the Creator Spirit hovers or "broods" over the watery darkness and chaos of our primordial world, creating something beautiful and orderly. He created life out of watery chaos.
Again and again, in Scriptures, we are told of the work of the Spirit in creating and renewing. Just as He works in creation to turn chaos into cosmos (Greek word for beauty, order), He also works within us to turn the chaos in our heart to something orderly and beautiful. That is the heart of the Psalmist's prayers (Psalm 19:12-14) as he closes this breathtaking psalm.
We carry within ourselves a vestige of the primordial chaos in our own unconscious heart. From traumas of the past, dark experiences, or deep hurts, we harbor the "raging seas of wickedness (see Isaiah 57:20)." Now, if we let Him, the Holy Spirit also wants to hover over the chaos of our unconscious where unseen forces; ancient and recent; are at play. In our hearts, contrary impulses arise. It is a hatching-place of Freudian anxieties and neuroses.
And yet, that is also a source of unexplored possibilities and great potential for constructive creativity, good and beauty. Vestiges of God's image remain. His calling for us to live a life with a divine edge continues to echo. We are children of God and the Spirit constantly reminds us from within (see Romans 8:15)
Indeed, the Spirit can reach the depth of everything (see 1 Cor 2: 10). He is our best psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (even though often God can also work through these human professions). In fact, He has also gifted the Church to us. Through worship, prayer and koinonia we experience a deeper creative work of the Spirit. Likewise, as we have seen in Psalm 19:7-11, the powerful Spirit-inspired Word can revitalise and purify us.
As my favourite worship song goes:
There is a longing only You can fill A raging tempest only You can still My soul is thirsty, Lord To know You as I'm known Drink from the river that flows before Your throne
Take me deeper, Deeper in love with You Jesus, hold me close in Your embrace Take me deeper, Deeper than I've ever been before I just want to love You more and more
Sunrise to sunrise I will seek Your face Drawn by the Spirit
to the promise of Your grace My heart has found in You
a hope that will abide
Here in Your presence forever satisfied...
Amen!
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