Day 2: Light and Longing
Illuminated and Invited
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 1:26–2:3
Step into Day 2 with a heart attentive and open.
Today we encounter God’s creation of humanity and His establishment of rest. We will witness the tender, intentional way God forms identity and purpose—then invites us into peace.
Wherever you feel fractured, hurried, or weary, let these verses show you that God not only brings order and life, but also calls you to live in the rhythm of His delight.
When you turn toward Him, He meets you with dignity, purpose, and rest.
1. Image and Indwelling
Genesis 1:26–27
²⁶ God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
We arrive now at the high point of creation: God says, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”
These words speak dignity, identity, and relationship.
The phrase “image of God” does not mean something small or symbolic—it means we were made to resemble God in a real, meaningful way. This is what theologians call “ontological”—having to do with our very being.
Human worth is not accidental. It is built into us by our Creator.
If you feel small, unseen, or damaged: God has placed His likeness in you. That is the first and unshakeable truth about your value.
God says, “Let Us make”—language that hints at God being relational within Himself (a glimpse of the Trinity) while still being One. This is not a puzzle for scholars only—it’s a reminder that relationship is part of God’s nature, and we were made to live in relationship with Him and with one another.
Male and female together reflect His image.
To bear God’s image means we were created with the capacities to reason, to create, to love, to make choices, to worship, and to seek relationship.
Even when life wounds us, even when sin distorts us, the image remains. It may be damaged, but it is never erased. Even when sin distorts the image, God—through Christ—restores it in all who turn to Him.
Journaling/Prayer: What lie have you believed that contradicts what God declares about you as His image-bearer? Write it down.
Now quietly respond to it with this truth: “I bear God’s image.”
If you cannot yet believe that, tell God honestly: “I don’t feel valuable. I don’t see Your image in me.” And then ask Him: “Will You help me see what You see?”
He will. You may not perceive a difference today. But He will gently, patiently, lovingly remind you of who you are—until you begin to believe it.
2. Vocation and Dominion
Genesis 1:28–31
²⁸ God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. ³⁰ To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
³¹ God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
After giving identity, God gives purpose. He blesses humanity and says: “Be fruitful… fill the earth… subdue it… have dominion.”
Notice the order: Identity comes before responsibility.
You are not valuable because of what you do. You are entrusted with work because you are valuable.
“Dominion” does not mean harsh control. It means stewardship—faithful care and wise management under God’s authority.
We are invited to participate in God’s ongoing shaping of the world: creating, cultivating, nurturing life, pushing back chaos, building good.
This is especially meaningful for the person who feels defeated, hesitant, unqualified, or ashamed.
God does not push you aside. He calls you into meaningful work as someone already loved.
And notice: God does not send us out empty-handed. He provides food—plants and trees—even before the work begins.
Provision comes with calling.
If you feel like you have “nothing to work with,” this passage says otherwise: Where God calls, God provides.
Journaling / Prayer Where have fear or shame prevented you from taking responsibility or stepping into something God has placed before you?
What is one small, realistic act of care you can practice this week?
If you’re too weary to think of anything, that’s okay. Tell God: “I don’t have the strength for this right now.” And then ask: “What is the smallest thing I could do?”
It might be as simple as:
Watering a plant
Sending one kind text
Spending five minutes outside
You don’t have to do something grand. Just one small act that says: “I’m still here. I’m still caring for what You’ve given me.”
That is enough.
3. Rest and Rhythm
Genesis 2:1–3
¹ The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. ² On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. ³ God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.
God rests—but not because He is tired. His rest shows completion, order, and delight.
He blesses and sets apart the seventh day as holy—a day of stopping, enjoying, and trusting.
Work without rest wears us down and makes us anxious. Rest without meaningful work leaves us empty and restless.
God gives both—and He gives them in rhythm.
For many of us, rest is frightening. We fear stopping means losing control, falling behind, or being exposed.
But Sabbath (rest) is a training ground for trust. We stop because God is in charge, not us.
God not only creates the world—He creates a pace for living in it.
Rest is not a law here—it’s a creation rhythm God built into the world.
And here is grace for those who are exhausted: Sometimes your whole life feels like rest you didn’t choose. Illness. Grief. Limitation. You’re not “resting”—you’re stuck.
If that’s you, hear this: God does not condemn you for being unable to work the way you once did. He sees you. He knows your limitations. And when you turn to Him, He is still at work in you.
Rest is not failure. It is part of God’s design.
Journaling / Prayer Where are you resisting rest?
What is one small act of rest you can choose this week that says: “God, I trust You to hold what I cannot”?
If rest feels impossible—if you’re either too driven to stop or too depleted to engage—tell God that.
Say: “I don’t know how to rest. Teach me.” Or: “All I do is rest, and I hate it. Help me trust that You’re still working.”
He hears both prayers. And He will meet you in both places.
Summary and Encouragement
Today we saw God’s order: Identity → Vocation → Rhythm
You are given worth before you are given work. You are provided for before you are sent. You are invited to rest because God—not you—holds the world together.
For those who feel tired, ashamed, overwhelmed, or unseen: God has given you dignity that cannot be lost, purpose that cannot be stolen, and rest that no achievement can replace.
God always moves first: He creates, blesses, gives, and invites. Our role is to receive, respond, and trust.
And when we cannot receive, respond, or trust? He is patient. He does not abandon us. When we turn toward Him, He continues His work—slowly, faithfully, lovingly.
Action / Attitude for Today
As you enter your day, begin here: Identity comes before activity.
Before you try to prove yourself, produce something, fix a problem, or earn worth—pause. Say quietly to yourself: “I bear God’s image. I am not what I produce.”
Choose one task today to approach as stewardship rather than pressure. If you can’t choose a task because you have no energy, then receive one moment as a gift from God—even if it’s just noticing the sky or tasting your coffee.
And before tonight ends, take a short, intentional moment of rest—even just ten minutes—to surrender everything unfinished into God’s hands.
If you cannot rest, tell Him you’re struggling. If you cannot work, tell Him you’re weary.
Either way—speak to Him. Stay connected. That is all He asks.
This is how image-bearers live—loved, purposeful, and held in God’s peace. Not perfect. Not finished. But deeply, eternally His.
The Bible for the Broken is published by Aurion Press LLC. © Aurion Press LLC. All rights reserved.