Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. God saw the light was good. 

Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other…God called the dome “sky”

Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, so that dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water he called “sea.”

Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation. 

Genesis 1:3, 5, 6, 8, 11

Genesis tells us that in the beginning the earth was formless. The first three days of creation solve the problem of the earth’s formlessness. God creates structure and gives definition to the earth. Also, these three days create elements that are needed to sustain life, especially human life: light, water, and food. 

Genesis is not asserting that God created the world in a twenty-four-hour time period. Instead, it is conveying to us that God created the world in an orderly and thoughtful way. The world is not here by some cosmic accident but by the work of a wise Creator, who sets up an ideal environment for his creation. 

Praise God today for the order in which he created the world and that it perfectly sustains life.