GOD’S WORDS HAVE PURPOSE
The Power of Purposeful Words
(Genesis 1:1–31)
History applauds those leaders, writers, and speakers who communicate with focus and purpose. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind—a humble man who said more in a few words than perhaps any other American before his time or since.
For instance, he dramatically moved the hearts of a hometown crowd with just 150 words spoken from the back of a train as he left for Washington to become president. And when he delivered his Gettysburg Address, his 278 words followed a two-hour oration by a famous speaker of the day, Edward Everett. Everett sent a note to President Lincoln the day after the memorial service. He wrote, “I wish that I could flatter myself that I had come as near to the central idea of the occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes.” It is instructive to note whose address became a part of America’s most treasured archives.
As concise and to the point as Abraham Lincoln was, his words pale in comparison to the power and purpose of God’s words. Genesis 1 records that God spoke only eleven times at creation, but just look at the result: Light came into being (v. 3); the atmosphere separated the waters (v. 6); the oceans were formed (v. 9); vegetation covered the earth (v. 11); the heavenly bodies were created (vv. 14–18); birds and fish appeared (vv. 20–22); animals were created (vv. 24–25); and man was created, blessed, and given resources on which to exist (vv. 26–30).
God’s creative statements in Genesis 1 have great relevance today as well. Jeremiah 31:35–37 tells us that the heavenly bodies spoken into existence at creation are a sign of the permanence of God’s promises to us. Please take a moment to read this spectacular passage and meditate on it. And the next time you wonder about the purpose of God’s words, the sun by day and the moon by night will tell you: God’s words have permanent purpose.
God’s Promise:
He speaks only that which has permanent significance for you.
