Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

The Gospel of John begins with a profound truth and the action of Jesus's revelation coming to life, the Word made flesh, bringing light and life into a dark world. Now, I know this is a weird way to start a devotion, but one of my favorite things about reading His Word is seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. John does this brilliantly by giving us a new look at the story of creation with Jesus as the focus. Look at the creation account in Genesis alongside the first five verses of John.

• Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.  
• John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  
• Genesis 1:2 - But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water.  
• John 1:2 - He was in the beginning with God  
• Genesis 1:3 - And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.  
• John 1:3 - …all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  
• Genesis 1:4 - And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided between the light and the darkness.  
• John 1:4 - In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  
•  Genesis 1:5 - And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night, and there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  
• John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  

When we take into account John's perspective, this allows us to recognize Jesus is not just a historical figure but the divine Savior that is present at the very start of creation. The same Jesus that forgives me daily, hears my prayers, and guides me existed more than 2000 years ago. He has walked and talked with the very people we read about in our Bibles. As a follower of Christ, I receive comfort from this. He is present with you and me, and He will be forever.

The feeling of comfort I get from knowing this reminded me of the same feeling I'd get with my dad. As kids, we grow up being introduced to a lot of new things. For me, one of the core memories of my childhood was learning to ride my bike for the first time. The first thing you should know is that as a kid, I was not the fearless person you know me to be now. I was terrified of almost every new thing I came across. When my dad told me it was time to take the training wheels off, I was petrified. I remember sitting on my bike in the middle of old Liberty Avenue in Barberton, Ohio, staring at the road in front of me. I never did this before. I didn't know what was going to happen. I was afraid and wanted to give up before we even began. That’s when my father did something I will never forget. He came over, put his hand on my back, looked down at me, and said something very simple but overwhelmingly comforting: " I will be right here with you."  How often do we face something that scares us forgetting our heavenly Father is right there with us?

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• Use the S.O.A.P. Method to study God’s Word.
• SCRIPTURE: What stands out to you in today’s passage?
  
• OBSERVATION: What is this text saying? What is the context? How does it fit with the verses before and after it? Are there any commands, instructions, or promises? 
  
• APPLICATION: How can you apply this verse to your life? What does this mean today? What is God saying to you? 
  
• PRAYER: Respond to the passage in prayer. Ask God to help you apply this truth to your life and spend some time listening to what He may be telling you.