Very Good
READ
There's something profoundly moving about the simple statement that closes the first chapter of the Bible. After each day of creation, God declares His work "good," but when He steps back to view the completed masterpiece—the intricate combination of light and darkness, land and sea, plants and animals, and finally humans—He takes it a step further.
Let’s take a moment to read Genesis 1:31:
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
REFLECT
This assessment reveals something fundamental about God's character: He creates with intention, purpose, and delight. Unlike human creators who often find flaws in their work or wish they could start over, God's evaluation of creation shows His perfect satisfaction.
The Hebrew word for "good" (tov) conveys not just moral goodness but wholeness, beauty, and rightness. When God calls creation "very good," He's declaring it exactly as He intended—complete, harmonious, and reflecting His character.
Think about this: before sin entered the world, before relationships fractured, before thorns and thistles grew, God's original design was one of perfect goodness. The world we see today, though marred by the effects of the fall, still bears the fingerprints of this original goodness. The sunset that takes your breath away, the intricate design of a butterfly's wing, the perfect complexity of the human eye—all whisper of a Creator who delights in beauty, order, and purpose.
Even in the midst of natural disasters, disease, and decay, we glimpse what creation was meant to be and what it will be again. Romans 8 tells us that creation groans for restoration, waiting for the day when God's "very good" assessment will once again describe every aspect of our world.
Each time we encounter beauty, order, or provision in the natural world, we're experiencing echoes of God's original "very good" declaration. And each time we work to protect, restore, or enhance the goodness of creation—whether through environmental stewardship, medical advances, or simply planting a garden—we're participating in God's ongoing work of drawing creation back toward His original intention.
Today, pause to notice the evidence of God's goodness in the world around you. Even in a fallen world, His fingerprints remain, inviting us to worship the One whose very nature is goodness itself.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where have you recently witnessed evidence of God's "very good" design in creation? How did it affect you?
What difference does it make to view yourself as part of what God declared "very good" rather than as a cosmic accident?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Creator God, open my eyes today to see the wonder of Your handiwork all around me. Help me to appreciate the beauty and purpose You've woven into creation. Inspire me to treat Your world and all who inhabit it with the same care and delight You showed when You declared it "very good." Amen.