²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living ^[e]creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the ^[f]firmament of the heavens.” ²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Genesis 1:20-23.

I have said before that God Is the Great Artist, and in His creation of the world, we see evidence of the way He organized and conducted His work.

I have taught art for many years, and I have often told my students to begin their work with big, broad marks and to add details later–bit by bit. That is how God created the world. If we look at God’s creative process, we see He began with a big, dark, amorphous canvas, and He added the details in well-orchestrated steps.

In hindsight, we see that on Day 3, God created the Flowers and the Trees, but on that same day, before He created the flowers, He created dry land–One Step at a Time.

One Step at a Time

On Day 3, God also gathered the water into spaces He called the Seas, and on Day 5, He created the Fish to inhabit the Seas–One Step at a Time.

On Day 5, God also created the Birds, but on Day 2, God Created the Sky to be the space in which the birds would fly–One Step at a Time.

Similarly, God created the Birds on Day 5, and years later, Noah used one of God’s birds to check for dry land–One Step at a Time.

On Day 4, God created the Stars — and after Jesus was born, A Great Star led the Wise Men to Bethlehem, That could not have happened if God had not created the Stars on Day 4–One Step at a Time.

I have often said this, but allow me to repeat myself: God Does Not Fly Willy-Nilly, by the Seat of His Pants [Like I Do], God Carefully Plans. I take comfort in that.

Years before Zaccheus Would Need a Tree,
God Planted Its Seed

And God Created Trees with Seeds on Day 3 of His Creation–One Step at a TIme.

During the first days of Advent, I am talking about God’s Creation of the World. The quality and the intricacy of God’s work is a reflection of God’s  Brilliance and Power. But when we look at how God meticulously planned His creation, we see a reflection of God’s careful attention to detail. God was pleased with His creation. Certainly, He intended to care for what He had created: We are promised that in the Bible:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” Matthew 10:26-31.

In my opinion, the purpose of Advent is to help participants begin to understand the planning involved in God’s preparation of the world that would one day house His son Jesus Christ.

On Day 6 of Advent, we’ll discover that God created Adam and Eve, but before He created His first couple, God created the garden where they could live. As God created Adam and Eve, He also started a series of families that would one day become the ancestors of Jesus. God’s Great Design began day by day as God created the World One Step at a Time.