My "Oh, Crap" Moment & Genesis 1

"Day 1" of my Bible journey started on Friday. And as I began reading Genesis I quickly realized I had no idea what I should be looking for. I spent so much time researching "how to read the Bible" before ever opening the book. I looked up reading plans and the difference in translations. Yet I completely overlooked the most important part of all - how, exactly, do I read the words on these pages? How do I properly interpret what I'm reading? How do I analyze what has been written here, and what am I supposed to take from these readings to apply to my own life? Basically, where do I begin?

The whole purpose of my wanting to read the Bible was so that I could properly interpret God's Word for myself and so that I could properly apply his teachings and messages to my own life. But as soon as I read "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" I had an "oh, crap" moment. I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking for.

So after reading the first three chapters of Genesis ("day 1" of my reading plan) and still writing some things down in my journal, I decided I needed to look up how to read the Word of God the "right" way. And out of everything I found, these three words were consistent - observe, interpret, apply. And now, all of sudden, I think I kind of get it. I've also read interpretations from other people to really figure out how to do this, and I'm hoping I'll be able to use this method as I continue to read through the Bible.

So now, here's what I'm gathering from Genesis 1.

Genesis 1 - The Beginning

Obviously, this is the story of how God created the world and everything else. I also would go as far as to say it's one of the most debated stories in the Bible between believers and non-believers. I feel like when people argue about the Bible the story of how we came to be is a hot topic.

Observation

God created all of this in six days. Just six. He first created light but not light like the sun, just light. On the second day, He created the sky. On the third day came the separation of water from land as well as all the vegetation on land. On the fourth day God created the sun, moon, and stars, which in turn became signs to mark sacred times and days and years. On the fifth day, He created all the water creatures and birds, and He also gave these creatures the ability to multiply on their own without needing God to create more. And the sixth day was the big day. He created the rest of the animals on land, and He also created mankind. He also gave all the vegetation for us to eat and allowed us to rule over all the animals, and God wanted all of his creations to populate the earth. And then on the seventh day, He rested and declared the seventh day a holy day. (But actually the seventh day is part of chapter two.)

Interpretation

From what I've read in the Bible and the other interpretations I've read online to help me understand, God created everything in six days - a literal six days where days equal 24 hours. And this is what I struggle with because I do believe in science, and I feel like there's a lot of proof out there to suggest the world and everything else took longer than six days to become what it is.

But then I thought about the difference between proven fact and theory. All of the scientific ideas about how we got here are all theories meaning they aren't proven, and there is likely no way to ever prove them. The big bang theory is exactly that - a theory. And actually, the big bang theory kinda lines up with God's six days. The big bang theory essentially came out of no where. Hello! "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." (Ge 1:3) The Bible's account seems very similar to a big ole bang to me, so thanks for lining up with the Bible's day 1, science.

But even though I know science's thoughts on the beginning have some logic to them and, for the most part, make sense, I still know that the Bible is Truth. Truth with a capital T. Science and the Bible are contradicting when it comes to the time frame. So right now, I still don't know how to feel about the story of the beginning, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that. It feels in a way like I'm denying God, which I obviously don't want to do. It's hard to unlearn what science says and what we've been taught in favor of the believing God's creation story. I want to, but I'm really struggling with it right now. I guess it comes from my desire to know that what I believe is right, but at the end of the day, we will probably never know exactly how the heavens and the earth were created until we meet our Father in heaven. It boils down to faith, and my lack of confidence in my faith right now is the whole purpose of me wanting to read the Bible.

Application

Honestly, I don't feel like there's much to apply from Genesis 1. Like, there aren't any lessons being taught or warnings or anything like that. It's simply the story of creation, and I'm under the impression that I'm supposed to take it at face value - a literal depiction of how the earth came to be.

More than anything, I simply want to believe it and feel sure that I am right when I tell others that I believe it. At the moment, I'm not 100%. So for now, I'm praying that as I continue to read the Bible I'll have an "aha" moment and that I'll gain some sort of enlightenment. And I ask that you please pray for me, too. Learning the truth of this story has always been a big inspiration for me in wanting to read the Bible. I want to feel confident that I know what God is saying here. So please pray that I can find a way to combine my understanding of this story with my logical side in order to find Truth.

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I'd love to know your thoughts on Genesis 1. What do you think about it? How do you find a way to believe it and then confidently explain it to others? What do you say when people question the story of The Beginning?

I'd also love to know how you interpret the Bible as a whole since this is a challenge I wasn't expecting to be facing. What questions do you ask yourself when reading chapters and books? How do you know what God is saying to you?