As we all know, Adam and Eve were the first man and woman. They lived in absolute paradise with the love of their lives. They wanted for nothing. Their every need was filled. There was no stress and chaos. Each of them truly enjoyed their work in the garden. Their relationship with Christ was incredible. God walked with them in the garden and was the true source of their joy. Life was better than good, better than great, it was actually blissful.
And then, the enemy slithered his way into the garden and planted a seed of doubt. Doubts of Christ’s goodness, doubts of His provision, doubts that His instructions were not in their best interests and would cause them to miss out on something “even better.” That seed of doubt continued to fester and lead to disobedience and sin, then came guilt and shame, then came separation from Christ as they had to leave the garden, and for the first time in their life, they felt fearful.
They had it all – joy, peace, protection, abundant provision, and love beyond measure. And yet, they struggled with fully trusting that what they had was enough. They wanted to take control, to make the decisions, to go their own way. They were not about to miss out on what life really had to offer.
Knowing what we know now, it is easy to be critical of their decision. They traded in paradise for what? A piece of fruit and a hollow promise that things could actually be better if they ignored their creator’s instructions and took matters into their own hands?!? While we may like to think we would have handled things differently, we wouldn’t have. The same sinful nature that was in Adam and Eve is in all of us.
Every hour of every day (and sometimes minute by minute), as followers of Christ, we struggle with these same doubts. Is His way really better? What will we miss out on? Perhaps it would just be better to take back control, make decisions on our own, make things happen on our time table, and go our own way. He’s just the creator of the universe. What would He know? How could He possibly understand?
Although, we recognize His blessings, His provisions, and His protection in our lives, it is some times too easy to trade it all in for the simplest of our hearts desires. His way is not just better, it’s the best. It’s for our protection. It’s because He loves us more than we can even imagine.
“Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.” ~ Psalm 25:4
My prayer is that we would kick the enemy to the curb, that we would pray through our doubts and allow our Savior to lead us as we walk with Him through the garden of our lives.
