The Spirit of God Moved upon the Face of the Waters

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 KJV)

Do you want the Word of God to work in your life? Then the Spirit of God must first move before you speak or act on the Word.

In Genesis 1:2, the earth was shapeless, empty, and dark—no beauty, no order, a total mess. Before God began speaking in verse 3, the Spirit first moved in verse 2. This pattern has remained unchanged from Genesis to Revelation: God’s Spirit works through His Word, and God’s Word operates by His Spirit. Without the Spirit, the words in the Bible are dead, including the sermons or actions based on it.

What is this moving of the Spirit? The Hebrew word here for “moved” literally means to “hover with fluttering wings”, like an eagle that broods over its young ones, cherishing and nurturing them (same word used in Deuteronomy 32:11). Figuratively, as used in Genesis 1:2, it means the Spirit of God hovered or hung over the waters, moving back and forth constantly.

The Spirit hovered over the earth—the situation, the crisis, the mess. Later in the scripture, we find the Spirit upon people, but in Genesis 1:2, He hovered over something, the mountain to be removed or the situation to change(formless and empty earth). How do we get the Spirit to hover over our circumstances? Briefly, we do so by being filled with the Spirit before we move or having someone filled with the Spirit moving with us, and by prayer.

We risk disappointments and frustrations if we dare to apply God’s Word without the moving of the Spirit.

Meditate

How does the devotional above apply to Peter’s example in Acts 4:8?

Apply the Word

Is the Spirit moving in your life or circumstances before you apply the Word? If you want God’s results when you apply the Bible, there is only one way: by His Spirit. Let the Spirit move in your world!