“The same Elohim who created the heavens and the earth is still creating and sustaining your life today.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 2, 2025
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The first sentence of the Bible is more than an introduction. It’s a declaration, an implicit command, a flash of glory, and the beginning of the greatest story that ever was (and will ever be) told. Before anything existed–before light, or time, or sound, or human life–God was. And with a word, He made everything that is.
I used to write Bible curriculum for children. One day, at the beginning of a project to teach the whole Bible to kindergarteners, I was stopped in my tracks. I thought I knew the creation story inside and out, but I was so wrong.
I couldn’t leave the first verse. The more I explored, the more I found. I kept listening over and over, deeply moved by this recording (Genesis 1:1 is in the first 23 seconds.) I studied the words for days.
In Hebrew, the opening words are Bereshit bara Elohim–“In the beginning, God created.” The word Elohim is plural, but it cannot mean we are to worship more than one God. The whole of God’s law says God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4). Instead, Elohim speaks of majesty, the fullness of divine authority, a God of power and might, whose strength is so vast that language struggles to describe Him. And even after pluralizing it, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of who He is.
God is bigger than our imaginations, which adds weight to the fact that the Bible also tells us this same God wants us to be near Him.
The verb in the sentence is singular. (You could spend hours meditating and studying about this plural noun with a singular verb.) And this verb, bara, is only used when God creates something where there was nothing. God gets His own word for creation. Why?
We can never bara. Only God creates out of nothing. Recognizing this should help us comprehend that He is God and we are not–and act accordingly.
What must it have been like? Was it a flash, a big bang? Or was it like a time-lapse video that happened slowly? Until He tells us, we will never know, but we can be sure that it was glorious.
Everything we believe flows from this beginning of light in darkness and something from nothing. This is the foundation for all faith. It reminds us that God is the source of order in chaos, the One who creates beauty out of nothing. And, if Elohim created everything, then every breath, every sunrise, every person, and every possibility in our lives exists because of Him.
So often, we read too fast, rush past these first words of God’s story, but today, slow down, listen. The story that begins in Genesis is ancient history; but it’s also the beginning of your story. The same Elohim who created the heavens and the earth is still creating and sustaining your life today.
Prayer
Eternal Creator, You are the beginning of everything. Please let me see You or who You are. Let me see the holiness in the things You’ve made. Remind me, every day, that You spoke all life into being, even my life. I praise you, Elohim!
Application
Open your Bible to Genesis 1:1. Read the verse aloud several times, slowly. Write the words “In the beginning, God” wherever you write your thoughts about God’s Word when you study it. Sit quietly for a moment and let those words settle in your heart. Reflect on where you see God’s creative power at work in your life. Read it aloud again every day this week.
Related Reading
Genesis 1:1–5; Psalm 33:6–9; John 1:1–4
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship: Elohim
Donate
If you are blessed by these daily devotionals please prayerfully consider a donation to support Wisdom Hunters Resources. We are trusting the Lord for His provision.
Download our app!
