Pray First
Read Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 2:16-17
I am not a shopper. Don’t get me wrong, I love a new outfit as much as the next gal. So when I need, or maybe just want, a new outfit, I must drudge into the store and “shop till I drop!” Doesn’t a girl need a new outfit for those special occasions…a date night with hubby, a dinner event, or even a ball game? Decision made, I march right into that oversized department store, excited to find just the right thing. And then it hits, it always does, I’m overwhelmed by all the choices! Wouldn’t it be easier if there were only a few things to choose from?
God gave Adam and Eve two choices.
“The Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” (Genesis 2:16-17) How hard could that be? Just avoid that one tree.
Why would God even create the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Animals and vegetation He created to carry out and serve their purpose, without choice, maybe instinct, but not real choice. When He created Adam and Eve, He wanted more, he wanted relationship. The presence of choice means having free will. Having a choice means having the opportunity to rebel against God. According to The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik, “If there is never a command or never something forbidden there can then never be choice. God wants our love and obedience to Him to be the love and obedience of choice.”
What would that be like if we didn’t have choices; if we received a command and there was automatic output according to the exact result of the command? I think that would make us robots. No interaction, no emotion, no choice, no feeling, no love. God made us in His image for Him to love and for us to choose to love Him back.
Choosing God’s way often seems like it would be an easy choice, an obvious choice. But Satan has a way of tempting us and causing us to long for the forbidden. We begin to feel like we are missing out if we can’t have the shiny, tasty object. That’s what the serpent did to Eve, and then Adam. He caused them, and us, to begin to think God isn’t fair. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?'” (Genesis 3:1)
Did God really say that? When Eve told the serpent that God said they would die if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil the serpent planted more doubt in Eve’s heart. Surely he didn’t mean you would actually die! “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5) He made Eve doubt God’s goodness and doubt that God knows better.
Adam and Eve could have chosen to trust God and obey him. They could eat from any tree in the garden, except the forbidden tree, and have a perfect existence; always being in a right relationship with God, always goodness, always peace, always being provided for, always closeness with the God who loved them fully and completely! Or, they could choose their own way, disobey God, and eat of the tree that God had forbidden. That disobedience, that sin, was the fall of mankind. They chose their own way. And we do the same.
We begin to see nothing wrong with anything we want. We want what WE want. Our choice becomes the same two choices of Adam and Eve: choose God’s way or our own way.
God’s plan is and always will be that we will choose relationship with Him. He even created us with a need for Him, whether we recognize that void can only be filled by Him or we don’t, that is how we were created. We are often deceived into thinking we can fill that void with a multitude of other things, and boy do we try! Adam and Eve, the first of our kind, were drawn in by the deceiver, who made them doubt that God knew what was best for them. The deceiver caused them to doubt the creator’s goodness.
Instead of fleeing from the tempter, the deceiver, the serpent, and running to God, they chose the wrong way, they chose the wrong tree, they chose their own way. They chose to seek wisdom and knowledge in their own way. It’s not that God never wants us to grow in wisdom; quite the contrary. But it is important for us to wait for that wisdom to come from him and trust him with the timing. James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.” He wants to protect us from knowledge that we aren’t ready to handle. But the enemy, Satan, wants to deceive us like he did Adam and Eve; he wants to convince us that we are in charge, that we know what’s best for ourselves. So the two choices are really this: choosing God to be our god or choosing ourselves to be our god.
1 Peter 5:8 reads: “Be alert and of sober mind, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
It’s not always easy to make the right choice, even when there are only a few things to choose from, a department store full of choices or a few things in a small boutique. Our minds get clouded by the lies of Satan, and by too many things the world has to offer. One of my favorite Bible passages is Proverbs 3:5-8.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, (choose him) and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
Choose. Maybe you have been going your own way for a long time. And maybe that has given you some good things on this earth. But the things on this earth are not lasting. Deep down, they are not truly fulfilling. Maybe you sense that void inside of you, a void you just can’t seem to fill with all the things this world says will give you joy or peace. The truth is, you don’t have to stay there. God is still choosing you; now it’s up to you to choose him. That’s all it takes to begin a relationship with him. Make a choice to begin again, to start new, to choose God’s way instead of your own way. That’s a good first step in finding the kind of joy and peace that God offers. Choose to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. He loved you first and wants to walk daily with you, through it all.
“Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
Worship: Christ Is Enough by Hillsong United
Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.
