January 1

Genesis 1:1‑2
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 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”—Gen. 1:1, 21In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And 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 1:1‑2).
Some believe that all was chaos in the beginning and that the earth slowly reached a habitable condition. But we read in Isaiah 45:1818For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:18) that “He created it not in vain” (i.e., void). Many scholars agree that in place of “was” we should read “became.” The earth, through some terrible cataclysm (possibly connected with the fall of Lucifer) became waste and empty, enshrouded in darkness and covered with water. Over this chaotic swirling waste the energizing Spirit of God moved, or brooded, as a hen brooding over the nest from which new life is to come.
“O soul of mine, be strong!
Make this a glad new year,
And life one grand sweet song,
Some other life to cheer;
No time hast thou to dream
Or waste life’s precious hour―
While borne upon life’s stream,
Waste not thy manly dower.
Amid life’s busy din,
O soul, think not of rest?
Great battles thou must win,
Make this new year thy best.
O soul of mine, be strong,
Let noble passion sway,
And love’s triumphant song
Make glad each passing day!”
—Walter Bruce Grimes