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Grain & Embers 11/25/24

Our Hovering, Filling, Searching God.
the Bible says in Genesis 1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.

The Hebrew word for hovering is "rachaph", which means "brooding; moving."

The person of the Holy Spirit "brooded" over the face of the formless void in the beginning moments of creation...but why?

I have eleven Rhode Island Red Chickens. These chickens can lay up to 300 eggs per year, EACH. We eat a lot of eggs in the Edgerton home.

We've had chickens for a couple years now, but we got these particular birds as chicks last June. They just now have matured and are beginning to lay eggs. I can hear them throughout the day when one-by-one they take turns laying their eggs in the hen house. I can hear them because they have a brooding song that they squawk when they are laying. Chickens lay on their eggs and "brood." They sit on their eggs and keep them warm in anticipation for what ought to become chicks. New chickens!

When the Holy Spirit hovered over the deep, He was "brooding" - He was actively engaged in bringing about life by the command of God the Father.

The text says that the earth was formless and void.
Can we be honest with each other, please? Life on this side of eternity can sometimes feel formless and void. There is no worse feeling than the feeling of emptiness. Our lives regress even further when we try to fill that formless void with stuff or activity instead of fellowship and intimacy with God the Father.

There is good news! The Holy Spirit is drawn to, and rushes into what is formless and void and "hovers" or "broods" there until life and beauty and truth and goodness fill the formless void.

But we must seek it. (Jer. 29:13)

The person you are praying for is being "brooded" over - so don't stop praying.
The Holy Spirit beat you to the impossible situation you are facing and worrying about. He is hovering there until His work is complete - so don't stop fasting.
The Holy Spirit's involvment preceded the breakthrough you are pleading God for - so don't stop pouring over the Scriptures.

We need only to shift our focus off ourselves and onto a God who loves us. (Mat. 6:33)

When we worry, we take our focus off God and focus on our situation.
When we gossip, we take our focus off God and focus on our insecurities.
When we complain, we take our focus off God and focus on inequities.

Our God is not passive. He is intentional and active. He broods. He patiently waits, and actively moves. He does so until we are ready to step out in faith and embrace the life He has in store for us. There is great wisdom in waiting on God. Yet God often waits on us. (Is. 30:18)

The Holy Spirit broods until life bursts forth in glorious light. (Gen. 1:3)

Yes, the Holy Spirit convicts, & comforts/counsels. (John 16:8; John 14:26)
But the Holy Spirit also hovers.
He doesn't just hover, He fills, and searches too. (Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 2:10-11)

The same God who was actively present in filling the formless void in Genesis is also the same God who fills us today, just like He did the disciples at Pentecost, empowering all of us for a life of meaning and effectiveness.

If there is void in your soul, it is vital you seek the Spirit's filling anew. Adequate time in His Word and in Prayer are like rivers of living water rushing into your soul. (John 7:37-38) Adequate time in worship and fasting often produce the same filling-like results.

Finally, the Holy Spirit searches. (1 Cor. 2:10-11)
The greek word for searches is "erauna." It means to thoroughly investigate something or someone. 

No-one knows the mind of God better than the Spirit of God, because the Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit bridges the chasm between the perfect mind of God, and frail ineptitude of the human mind. 

Made short and sweet: God the Holy Spirit knows exactly what you need, exactly when you need it, and delivers it in the exact way you'll receive it. So trust Him.

Resign your pride, and trust Him.
Resign your control, and trust Him.
Resign your agenda, and trust Him.
Resign your hurt, and trust Him.

He is the hovering, filling, searching God who has all things under His control from everlasting to everlasting.

Jesus emptied Himself on the cross so you and I could have full lives. (John 10:10)

Welcome the Spirit's hovering, seek His filling, and invite His searching.

stay salty. be bright.

Pastor Luke 


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2 Comments


Laura Kirby - November 26th, 2024 at 2:44pm

Thank you Luke! This was very thought provoking. I really appreciate knowing what certain words mean in context to biblical times. It really helps me better understand God's word.

Luke - December 3rd, 2024 at 5:35pm

Excellent!