As I embark on the start of something new, I have been thinking about how much has happened—in life, growing with God, overcoming obstacles—to get me to this place right here: a beginning. There is a start to all things. At least that is how I conceptualized it in my human thinking.
When I think of a beginning, I think of that point in which everything starts… the first day of school, the launching of a creative project, the number 1, the place where a line starts on a piece of paper. I had never stopped to think that there is a “before” to any beginning, because then that would nullify the definition of it being a beginning, right? It’s a brain bender.
According to Merriam-Webster, a beginning is “the point at which something begins: start,” “the first part,” “origin” or “source.” This definition is what I was picturing in my head, but my heart was pondering something more. If you look at any beginning, there is always something that precedes it.
There is a “before” to the beginning that is foundational. Any beginning, before action, is big in foresight and forethought. Examples of this can be dreams of the heart before manifestation, the imagining before the creation, the blueprints before the house. There are thoughts ruminating, ideas brewing, and visions taking form in the space of “what could be.”
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)
Faith Is Substance
Starting anything requires you to believe something… You need to know what you want before any beginning manifests. So what is unseen precedes that which is seen. The house of your dreams first starts with an image of what you want in your mind’s eye. Before the line starts on that piece of paper, there is a desire for that line to be there. A line defines the space to be filled. It has a purpose before the pencil hits the paper.
All beginnings start with desire: “What do I want?”
Beginnings Carry Weight in the Heart of God
We find the most profound picture of a beginning in Genisis 1:1. “In the beginning” is the first phrase in the Bible. Whoa… this is the first thing God chose to say, at least to us! This must mean beginnings are of utmost importance to our Father.
Who doesn’t marvel at the birth of a baby, the first word they speak, or the first step they take? These are all baby book, picture-taking, family-sharing moments! As parents, we do not despise the smallness of the beginning even though we have mastered those things. We treasure them, we celebrate them, we share them. Our Father feels the same way about every beginning in our lives! There is much growing before any of these milestone moments take place.
A Beginning: The Fruit of the Womb of Incubation
“In the beginning” was the first fruit of God’s thoughts and intentions over creation. How long was this “in the beginning” in the womb of God’s heart? How long was he hovering over you and I and the beauty of his creation before speaking it forth? The vastness of what he created and intricacy with which he created it showcases the depths of his intention for us. We are still searching out his thoughts in creation!
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4 NIV)
“Your eyes have seen my formless substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:16 NASB)
You can see the thoughts and intentions of his mind woven in the scriptures above. And you can see his heart demonstrated in the phrase “in the beginning” or “beresit.”
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NKJV)
Beresit is one Hebrew word that means “first, beginning, best, chief, choice part” (Strong’s 7225). God released his first, his beginning, his best, his chief, his choice part—he held nothing back. He poured himself out “in the beginning,” and called his creation good, but YOU—very good. He made you first, chief. He did not spare anything and made you the best! You are the choicest part—very good.
All of What Would Be Was Contained Within “In the Beginning”
Let’s look further into what “in the beginning” means in Hebrew. Beresit has six Hebrew letters, starting with “bet” (the 2nd letter) and ending with “tav” (the last letter). The word starts at the beginning (letter 2) of the Hebrew alphabet and finishes at the end (letter 22). In a sense, we get the picture that the “all of everything” (whole of creation) is contained within the first Hebrew word of the Bible! Let that sink in!
If you dig even deeper, bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet means “house” or “tent” (hebrew4christians.com). God literally made a container for every thought in his heart for creation to occupy and exist. The first thing He did was build a house for his creation. That is incredible!
Even more amazing is that the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, “aleph”—the letter that represents God—is the third letter in the word beresit, positioned smack dab in the middle of the word! He created a place for himself to dwell in the middle of it all! We are his most desired dwelling place—his tent, his home. He is smack dab in your middle!
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” (Revelation 22:13 NKJV)
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.'” (John 14:23 NKJV)
If he is the First and the Last, it raises the question why the Bible starts with the second Hebrew letter (bet) instead of the first letter (aleph). One idea is this: since the aleph is a silent letter, it came before all the letters were spoken. This makes sense, because God IS before all things and IS in all things. He exists outside of everything he made and yet exists inside everything he made.
“And He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:18 NASB)
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV)
“[He is] the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:23 NASB)
He Is the “Before” in Your Beginning
On a personal level, He is outside of every fresh start, every business venture, every creative project, every new season, every hard yes he is asking for. He is before every one of your beginnings, and He is on the inside of it. He lives in you, and before your birth, every beginning you would ever have was planned. You can confidently walk toward his finished work in you!
So say yes to that fresh start. Say yes to running with that business idea. Say yes to that creative project. Say yes to the new season. Say yes to the hard thing He is asking you to do. He began that work of faith in you, and He is faithful to complete it!
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV)
Questions for Convos with God:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)
