The Lord is speaking to me this morning and is teaching me more about what I learned in a class I am taking with Kingdom Foundations.
Free will and willpower. Both of these were given to us by God. They were given to Adam in the Garden. Let’s unpack this a bit.
In Genesis 2:8-9 “The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
God put both trees in the midst of the garden. ‘Midst’, in Hebrew, means in the middle, amongst.
Let’s jump to Genesis 2:15-17 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”
This word “commanded” means to give charge over, appoint, commission. This was Adam’s purpose. He was commissioned/appointed by God to care for the garden. He was given free will to do it as he pleased. God provided everything he would need to fulfil His purpose and with this free will He gave Adam the power to do it, willpower. God didn’t hide the tree of good and evil or the tree of life. God placed them in the center of the garden. Adam used this willpower to not eat from those trees. I believe Adam would walk with God though the garden and listen and learn from Him (Gen. 3:8-9).
God has given us the same thing. He created us with a purpose, a calling and He has given us the free will to walk it out and the willpower to accomplish it and He will provide everything we need to fulfil it. So are we doing it and if not, why not?
Are we walking with the Lord, learning from Him and following His Promises or are we listening to another voice and following that? In Genesis 3 things have shifted. Adam and Eve shifted their eyes and ears and started listened to another voice. A voice of a liar. Genesis 3:11 reads “And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Hence sin entered the world and shame and guilt came upon Adam and Eve and rather than turning to their loving Father and asking Him to forgive them (which He most assuredly would have) they hid themselves and tried to cover their sins with leaves.
When we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are washed clean. Our sins are forgiven and we are as Adam was in the garden before sin entered. We have the same gift of free will and willpower to walk with our Lord in the cool of the day learning from Him and following Him. It’s His gift to us, for us, and we now have Holy Spirit in us to help us. The enemy will try to lie to us as he did Adam and Eve making us question and doubt. But we have God’s Word to guide us and keep us in Truth so that we can fulfil our calling and purpose which is greater than we can ask or think. (“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” Eph 3:20a)
Value what God says about you. Spend time with Him. Spend time in His Word, in worship and in prayer. The next time the enemy tries to lie to you and tell you God doesn’t care about you or that He won’t provide for you or be there for you rebuke him by telling him the Truth!
- The Lord cares about me and helps me! (For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13)
- My God will provide for all I need. (And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19)
- The Lord never leaves me. He is always there to care for me! (Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:61
Hi Linda, thank for your insight, you make good point, if God is so willing to forgive me/us and we know that as Christians…Why didn’t Adam and Eve, who walked with God, communed with God, ask for forgiveness instead of hide? As you said, “God would have forgiven them!” Good food for thought.