P.O.W.s

...Genesis 1:1 properly reads, "God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth." (p 3)

...No one knows the length of time between the events recorded in verses 1 and 2; but it is known that when the account given by verse 2 begins, something catastrophic had happened in the heavens and on earth. (p 4)

...When God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, He did not create them in the chaos found in verse 2.

Genesis 1:2
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.

First of all, in examining verse 2 a student of the Word must be aware that in the original Estrangelo Aramaic and Hebrew there was no verb "to be," although there was the verb "to become." This is the reason the first "was" in verse 2 is in regular print while the second "was" is italicized. It points out that there was no Hebrew word in the second usage; there was no word at that place at all, but there was a word for the first usage. The first word "was" should have been translated "became." "And the earth became without form and void..." The earth was not created in Genesis 1:1 formless and void, but it became that way. (p 6-7)

Ezekiel 28:15
Thou [Lucifer] wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Whatever happened between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 was of such a cataclysmic nature that a perfectly created earth became tohu va bohu. When Lucifer rebelled in heaven, the whole creation rocked and reeled. Romans 8 says that even until today the "whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain..." (p 8-9)

I went to bed angry,
And I woke up angry.
Angry at myself,
Angry at loved ones,
But a lot of my anger
Feels directed at You.

In my head,
And in my spirit,
I understand that we are all living
In a shattered, disintegrating Creation.

I understand that
Everyone and everything
That matters to me in this life
Will someday cease to exist.
I understand that death is inevitable...
That illness, destruction, despair,
And all the tragedies and sufferings
Wrought by Nature and human hands
Are inescapable.

In my head,
And in my spirit,
I understand all these things,
But in my heart,
I rail against them.

In my heart,
I cry out against
The brokenness of Creation,
And all that this brokenness means
For Creation's inhabitants.
In my heart,
I ask You "Why?
What is the point of all this?"

O Lord,
How long must we wait for
The healing of Creation,
The restoration of Your Design
To its original wholeness?
We are so weary
From the warfare.
We are so weary
From enduring, and suffering,
For ourselves
And our cherished ones.

There are multiple paths before me.
There is one particular branch of the journey
I am loath to tread.

I am learning,
And studying,
And planning,
And cultivating patience
And understanding,
And trying to prepare.
In the meantime,
In my heart of hearts,
I pray for Your Mercy
To shine on someone's future days.

"Semper fidelis."
Sister Pat's nickname for me.
Always faithful.

O Lord,
Will you test me thus?

Wierwille, Victor Paul.  The Word's Way: Studies in Abundant Living. American Christian Press: New
     Knoxville, 1977.