Using the Example of Creation to Encourage Others in Uncertainty
The biblical account of creation offers a foundation for encouraging individuals facing uncertainty, emphasizing God's power, purpose, and ongoing involvement in the world [3, 4]. The act of creation itself, where God called all things into being from nothing, demonstrates an absolute freedom and infinitely wise reasons behind existence [4]. This divine act is attributed to the Godhead generally, to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, highlighting a unified divine will in bringing forth creation [4].
The narrative of creation in Genesis describes God's deliberate work, occurring "in the beginning" and unfolding over six normal days, according to God's purpose and for His pleasure [3]. This ordered and purposeful creation provides a basis for trust in God's control over all things [7]. John Calvin, for instance, notes that those who acknowledge God's omnipotence derive a double benefit: they recognize His ability to reward their homage and can rest secure in the protection of Him to whom everything is subject [7]. This perspective suggests that even in times of uncertainty, the Creator's overarching control offers a source of stability.
The creation account also underscores God's continuous care. While the method of creation is not fully detailed in Genesis, the text implies that God's will is the cause of all things [4, 6]. This ongoing divine will means that God is not a distant creator but one who actively sustains and governs. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that humanity, though a small part of creation, is made for God, and the human heart remains restless until it finds rest in Him, implying a continuous relationship between Creator and created [9].
In moments of despair or uncertainty, the example of creation can serve as a reminder of God's faithfulness and power [5]. The Bible indicates that saints, though sometimes tempted to despair, are enabled to overcome it through trust in God [5]. The very act of creation, believed by faith to be God's work, demonstrates His capacity to bring order out of chaos and existence out of nothing [3]. This can be a source of encouragement, suggesting that God is capable of navigating and resolving difficult situations.
The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:10, uses the metaphor of building a foundation to describe his work, emphasizing the importance of careful construction [1, 2]. While this passage primarily concerns spiritual labor, it implicitly draws on the idea of a foundational act, much like creation, that requires divine grace and careful execution. Just as God laid the foundation of the world, believers are called to build carefully on the foundation laid by Christ [1, 2].
The concept of creation also highlights God's sovereignty. Charles Hodge, in his Systematic Theology, discusses how the purpose to create precedes the purpose to redeem, indicating that creation is not merely a means to an end but a fundamental act of God's will [8]. This divine sovereignty means that God's plans are not contingent on human circumstances, providing a stable ground for faith even when circumstances are uncertain.
Sources
- 1 Corinthians “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. -- 1 Corinthians 3:10”
- I Corinthians “I Corinthians 3:10 (BSB) — By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Creation — The formation of things which had no previous existence -- Ro 4:17; Heb 11:3. Effected By God. -- Ge 1:1; 2:4,5; Pr 26:10. By Christ. -- Joh 1:3,10; Col 1:16. By the Holy Spirit. -- Job 26:13; Ps 104:30. By the command of God. -- Ps 33:9; Heb 11:3. In the beginning. -- Ge 1:1; Mt 24:21. In six normal days. -- Ex 20:11; 31:17. According to God's purpose. -- Ps 135:6. For God's pleasure. -- Pr 16:4; Re 4:11. For Christ. -- Col 1:16. By faith we believe, to be God's work -- Heb 11:3. Order of First day, making light and dividing it from darkness. -- Ge 1:3-5;”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Creation — "In the beginning" God created, i.e., called into being, all things out of nothing. This creative act on the part of God was absolutely free, and for infinitely wise reasons. The cause of all things exists only in the will of God. The work of creation is attributed (1) to the Godhead (Gen. 1:1, 26); (2) to the Father (1 Cor. 8:6); (3) to the Son (John 1:3; Col. 1:16, 17); (4) to the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30). The fact that he is the Creator distinguishes Jehovah as the true God (Isa. 37:16; 40:12, 13; 54:5; Ps. 96:5; Jer. 10:11, 12). Th”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Despair — Produced in the wicked by divine judgments -- De 28:34,67; Re 9:6; 16:10. Leads to Continuing in sin. -- Jer 2:25; 18:12. Blasphemy. -- Isa 8:21; Re 16:10,11. Shall seize upon the wicked at the appearing of Christ -- Re 6:16. Saints sometimes tempted to -- Job 7:6; La 3:18. Saints enabled to overcome -- 2Co 4:8,9. Trust in God, a preservative against -- Ps 42:5,11. Exemplified Cain. -- Ge 4:13,14. Ahithophel. -- 2Sa 17:23. Judas. -- Mt 27:5.”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Creation — (The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The method of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The word create (bara) is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis-- (1) as to the origin of matter; (2) as to the origin of life; (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus as”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 32: have full provision for their infants, and others almost none, according as it is the pleasure of God to nourish one child more liberally, and another more sparingly. Those who attribute due praise to the omnipotence of God thereby derive a double benefit. He to whom heaven and earth belong, and whose nod all creatures must obey, is fully able to reward the homage which they pay to him, and they can rest secure in the protection of Him to whose control everything that could do them harm is subject, by whose authority, Satan, with a”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 60: precede the means; and, according to Paul, the purpose to create precedes the purpose to redeem, and therefore cannot be a means to that end. Our Lord, we are told, was delivered to death “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” But his death, of necessity, supposed his incarnation, and therefore in the order of thought, or in the plan of God, the purpose to prepare Him a body preceded the purpose to deliver Him to the death of the cross. The only passage of the Bible which appears to teach explicitly that creation is a mean”
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic) “Catechism of the Catholic Church, CHAPTER ONE (part 2): witness of others who teach him to seek God. You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. and man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it”