Day 1: Creation and Cracks
From Emptiness to Abundance
However you can engage today, we're here. Read, listen or both.
The written portion gives an overview, with verses broken down into smaller bites, and journaling/prayer prompts for reflection. In the podcast, Steve Traylor reflects on today's passage with Scripture reading, a deeper pastoral teaching, and prayer (about 15 minutes). Perfect for morning coffee, commutes, or when your eyes need a rest.
Scripture: Genesis 1:1–25
Step into Day One with eyes open and heart expectant.
We go back to the beginning—where God steps into chaos and speaks light into darkness.
You may see emptiness, confusion, or broken places in your own life. But notice this: even in the void, His Spirit hovers. Ready. Present. Working. The same sovereign God who ordered creation is able to bring order to the deepest places of your heart.
As you read, reflect, and pray today, imagine God shaping your heart alongside creation. He does not leave things formless forever. He brings order. He brings life. He brings hope.
By the end of this study, you may glimpse the first stirrings of that hope, the beginnings of growth, and the quiet promise of transformation.
1. Chaos and Calling
Genesis 1:1–5
¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
³ God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Creation begins not in beauty, but in void—in something unformed and uncertain. This is a picture many of us recognize in our inner lives.
Yet God is already there. Hovering. Present. Intentional.
He does not wait for the world to be orderly before He acts. He speaks into the chaos. He brings light into darkness and then reveals what needs to be shaped.
God meets you in your brokenness, not because you’ve cleaned it up, but because He is a God who initiates, restores, and makes all things new.
The light He brings allows us to see clearly—not only what is good, but also what is unfinished. What is misunderstood. What is in need of healing.
You do not have to fix yourself before God begins His work. He does not ask you to clean up the chaos before He enters it. He steps into it and begins to speak.
And when He speaks, things change.
Journaling/Prayer: Where in your life does emptiness or chaos feel most present? Name it simply and honestly before God.
If you can’t find words today, that’s okay. Just sit quietly and know: God’s Spirit is hovering over that very place. He has not abandoned it. He is already beginning His work—even if you cannot see it yet.
2. Boundaries and Breath
Genesis 1:6–8
⁶ God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” ⁷ God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
God separates waters from waters. He names the space between them sky. This is the introduction of distinction—God giving shape, clarity, and room for life to flourish.
Separation here is not restriction. It is order. It is kindness.
Brokenness often feels like everything is overlapping—pressures, emotions, needs, grief, expectations all blurring together until we cannot tell one from the other.
God shows that He can bring clarity, one gentle separation at a time.
The creation of sky is not loud or dramatic. It is steady, quiet ordering.
Your heart can hold chaos, and God can still begin to sort, arrange, and give breath. He does not fix everything at once. He works patiently, creating space where there was none.
Journaling/Prayer: Where in your life do the pressures blur together? Where do things feel tangled?
Ask God to introduce one step of clarity—just one. If you’re too overwhelmed to ask, simply tell Him: “I can’t sort this out. Please help me see one thing clearly.”
God is gentle. He will not demand you untangle everything today. But He will begin to separate what needs separating, bringing order one day at a time.
3. Land, Life, and Limits
Genesis 1:9–13
⁹ God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. ¹¹ God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. ¹² The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
God gathers waters into one place so that land can appear. A place to stand. A place to plant. A place to grow.
Then God brings forth vegetation—plants that carry seed inside them. Life that leads to more life. Growth that unfolds slowly, over seasons.
Brokenness can feel like drifting with no ground beneath us. But God brings up land—foundation. He prepares environments where growth can take root.
The cracks in your life? They are not barren. They may be soil ready for seed.
Growth does not require perfection. It only requires God’s ordering hand—and time.
Notice: the plants don’t spring up instantly. They yield. They grow. They bear fruit “after their kind,” in their season.
God is not in a hurry. Neither should you be.
Journaling/Prayer: Where do you feel unfruitful or stagnant? Ask God if this area may be preparation, not failure.
If you cannot yet trust that anything good is growing, tell Him that honestly. Say: “I don’t see any fruit here. Help me trust that You are still at work.”
He is patient with your doubt. And He is faithful to bring growth in His time, not ours.
4. Lights, Life, and Living Creatures
Genesis 1:14–23
¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, ¹⁸ and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
²⁰ God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” ²¹ God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
God places lights in the sky to mark seasons, days, years. Time becomes meaningful—structured, rhythmic, guided.
Then God fills the waters with living creatures and the sky with birds. Life is now moving, interacting, multiplying. A world overflowing with interdependence and relationship.
Even in times of personal dryness or fragmentation, God may already be forming new connections, new rhythms, new ways of belonging.
You were not created to live in isolation. God often uses relationships as part of His restoring work. Growth happens in community under His care.
This does not mean you must force yourself into crowds when you have no energy. It means that when God brings safe people near—people who reflect His care—you can receive them as part of His restoring work.
Journaling/Prayer: How have relationships shaped your healing or contributed to your broken places? Who has God placed in your life who may be part of your growth?
If relationships feel too painful right now, tell God that. Say: “I’m not ready. I’m too hurt.” He understands.
But also ask Him: “When I am ready, will You show me who is safe?” He will. In His time. And He will give you the strength you need when that time comes.
5. Land Animals and Divine Delight
Genesis 1:24–25
²⁴ God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. ²⁵ God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
God brings forth creatures of every kind, completing creation’s ecosystem. And God sees that it is good.
God delights not in perfection, but in wholeness with purpose. Integration. Harmony. Life interconnected.
For those who feel cracked or incomplete: God’s delight is not withheld until you are “fixed.”
Your brokenness is not your disqualification. It is the context in which His grace can be seen most clearly.
Your cracks may become the very spaces where new fruit grows. The apostle Paul wrote, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
God does not wait for you to be strong before He works through you. He works through your weakness. He shines through your cracks.
Journaling/Prayer: How might God use your scars or weaknesses to bless others, to encourage, or to reveal His care?
If you cannot yet imagine that happening, that’s okay. Simply tell God: “I don’t see how You could use this pain.” And then ask: “But if You can, will You show me?”
He will. Not today, perhaps. But one day, you will look back and see how He wove even the broken threads into something beautiful.
Summary
Creation shows us a God who steps directly into disorder. He separates what is tangled. He builds foundation. He plants seeds. He fills emptiness with movement and life.
This is not only the story of the world. It is the story of your heart.
Brokenness is not where the story ends. It is where God begins.
And He does not leave you as you are. He hovers. He speaks. He shapes. He restores.
Action / Attitude for Today
Walk through your day with this awareness: God meets you in the chaos—not after it is organized.
You do not need to be ready. You do not need to be steady. You simply need to turn toward Him in the very place that feels fractured or confused.
Choose today to let His light begin there. Choose today to let His ordering begin there. Choose today to open your heart to the work He is already doing.
Not when you feel better. Not when circumstances change. Right now, in this moment, as you are.
And if you cannot yet turn toward Him—if you are too tired, too numb, or too angry—then hear this truth: He is already turning toward you. His Spirit is still hovering over your chaos. He has not stopped working. He will not abandon you.
When you can take one small step toward Him, take it. Until then, rest in this: He is holding you.
The Bible for the Broken is published by Aurion Press LLC. © Aurion Press LLC. All rights reserved.