“And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was “hovering”over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2 (NASB)
No matter how desolate, dark or empty a situation is, the Spirit of God is there, hovering. Hovering is an interesting way to describe what the Holy Spirit does.
Webster’s dictionary definition of the word “Hover,” is “to position a computer cursor over an image or icon before selecting it.” Before computers existed, the definition of hover was “to move about to and fro, wavering over a person, place or object.”
The word, hover, has been around for centuries, and it appears in the book of Genesis, written around 1400 BC. The Spirit of God was “hovering over the waters” moving to and fro, over the dark, desolate, formless stages of creation. He is called the “Ruach Elohim.” Ruach is Hebrew for Spirit and Elohim is the plural form of the word for God. The mysterious thing about this name is that the word for God is El, but the writer of Genesis uses the plural form, Elohim.
So, the very first time God is ever mentioned in scripture, His name is in plural form. It makes sense to Christianity, that God introduces Himself as a Trinity. The plurality of His name is seldom talked about, yet in the story of creation, God refers to Himself in plural,
“Let us make man in our image.”
Christianity has always taught that God is a Trinity, one God in three persons. The actual word Trinity isn’t found anywhere in the entire bible, but the earliest fathers of the church, who knew the original apostles, were taught the Trinity by them, and then went on to teach it to others.
We may never fully comprehend the concept of a Trinity, but we can gain a deeper appreciation of each person in the Trinity. Jesus said that He would ask the Father, and He will send us another Helper, to be with us forever, who is the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16)
The Holy Spirit is this Helper, the same one who was there at the beginning, hovering over the dark waters of creation. He was sent to us by Jesus and His Father, and He hovers over us forever. Since the Holy Spirit is still hovering over us today, it seems only natural to invite Him into every aspect of our life and every situation of our day.
The hovering Helper hovers over all of us especially when we feel like we are going through some dark, desolate situations in our lives. I can feel the darkness that my son is feeling, while currently going through a divorce, but I am trusting that the Holy Spirit will hover over all who are affected by it, and send His peace.
The same hovering Helper, moves over every human soul on earth, pursuing them in the power of God’s love, because that’s what He does by nature. He is the One who makes God’s love knowable, regardless of how much suffering people may go through. He hovers over victims of poverty, injustice, loneliness, illness or depression. He even hovers over those who reject Him, and express no need for God at all, because His love is relentless and He never gives up on anyone.
This is the nature of the Ruach Elohim, the same Spirit who was first revealed to us in Genesis. He is the One who hovers over the whole world, and reveals His truth to anyone who asks and seeks for Him with their whole heart. Jesus asked for the Spirit to come to us, and now we can pray and ask the Spirit to come to our children, our friends, and all our loved ones.
We can ask Him to hover over our homes, places of employment, or any area that needs to receive God’s love and truth.
He hovers eagerly over all of our efforts to serve others. Leaders can ask Him to hover over their city or nation. Ministers and Pastors can ask the Spirit to hover over their churches and places of worship. Surgeons can ask Him to hover over their hands during surgeries. Scientists, inventors and doctors of faith, throughout history, have asked for His wisdom and discovered cures, treatments and vaccines. First responders can ask the Spirit to hover as they serve, save and protect others.
While He hovers, He gives us comfort, hope, peace, wisdom and strength. Even in the darkest situation, the Spirit has infinite ways of helping us because God is infinite, and His love keeps persevering on our behalf.
Come Holy Spirit and hover over us, in every aspect and area of our lives. Please have your way in our hearts, and in the whole world now and forever. Amen
