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 I'm preparing for a children's lesson on the Creation account from the Biblical book of Genesis. 
 I've read these verses so many times that sometimes coming back to such familiar phrases can fly under the radar of a dulled brain.
 I believe that the Word of God is alive and able to make me alive.  Based on that fact, I /must/ see something new here.  Only the Lord can make that happen though.
 And He does!
 Seconds into reading, I find these words, "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. 
 "Mmmm," I shudder. "everywhere was darkness. And it covered the deep." 
 Those two words, "darkness" and "deep" aren't very pleasant to me. I don't like to think of myself as a "scaredy-cat" but thinking about deep water is like thinking about heights: I'm not a fan.  Sure, I love to swim and can swim a little, but not very well. 
 Besides there being the deepness of the water, there was darkness.  
I don't remember ever being inside a cave when the lights are shut off, but I've heard stories. Darkness can drive a person insane very quickly. With that thought, it makes me think about spiritual darkness.  The Bible says that those who don't know the Lord are like people in darkness, " they know not at what they stumble" (Prov. 4:19). The thick, groping darkness inside a cave illustrates how scary it would be to be stuck in a situation of total darkness.
 But you know?  The best part of this verse comes last.  Like a delicious dessert at the end of a hard-to-swallow dinner, these words are precious: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."  
  God was there.  
Even though the water was deep, even though the earth was shrouded in darkness, God's Spirit was moving.  Wow, I like that.
 It makes me think of some dark times I've been going through, some dark times that some of my friends are going through.  Even though the waters feel so deep below us, even though the darkness is so thick around us, the Lord is moving and working right in the midst of it all.
 This verse in Genesis comes at a time before God had made humans and animals.  There was nothing
drowning in the sea.  There was no life straining for sight through the gloom. There was no one there that could bring us back word that God was there and moving and working!  So, out of the pure kindness of His Great Heart, He shares with me today, (since He was there at the beginning of time), that His Spirit was moving. 
 I'm so glad He tells me that!
 I'm so thankful for the deep, sweet consoling words He holds out for me to pick up and
take in.  Wow.  His arms are so strong, His Word is so sweet, His work is unceasing. 
 What a great God to trust in!