Genesis 3:7(NLT) tells us “At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” It is very clear from His Word that Heavenly Father wanted us to build a foundation of right believing by knowing the truth of our history. God’s commandment to Adam and Eve was that they were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This verse tells us that when they disobeyed God, their eyes were open in a way they weren’t before. So, for the first time, their minds became conscious of evil. Genesis 3:7 tells us they suddenly felt shame. Shame is a humiliating feeling rooted in a knowledge of doing something wrong. It is a direct result of acting against what God wants for us. It was a feeling so bad that it made Adam and Eve want to cover themselves, and in this act of wanting to hide, we see the nature of darkness exposed.

Before this, Adam and Eve only knew about God’s goodness. The devil lied to them, because this is what the devil does. In John 8:44, Jesus Christ called the devil the father of lies, and the worse part about this is that Adam and Eve took the devil’s word over God’s Word. Heavenly Father didn’t keep that whole debacle a secret from you and me. He wanted us to know that just because something looks good and its within our reach, this doesn’t mean that it’s right for us. God’s Word makes it possible for us to discern the difference between a blessing from heaven and a counterfeit from hell.

Why is this discernment important?
Every person living, and that has ever lived, has a destiny in the Will of God. It is one thing to make a mistake in life, but it is entirely a different thing to do something that causes you to veer off the path of your destiny entirely. The latter is so costly that the consequences cannot be quantified by a human mind. Ephesians 1:11(NKJV) says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” God has predestined us. He knew us long before we were placed in our mother’s wombs. He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has a good plan for our lives, but He also lets us know that we’re not forced to choose the plan He has for us. We can choose something that looks like the right thing but isn’t.

This is why it is important for us to discern the counterfeits that the devil will try to trick God’s people with. These counterfeits will cause us to waste valuable resources like time, momentum, and stamina. If unchecked, a counterfeit in the form of people, relationships, and situations will deplete us completely. God doesn’t want this. He is a God of love, light, liberty, and life. He wants to preserve us. One of the ways He does this is by giving us warnings about the enemy’s plots.

Warning signs
There is sometimes a tiered approach to God’s warnings, and the first layer is often words of wisdom spoken from someone in our everyday environment. The mistake we make is thinking this person has to be a prophet or a person of great biblical wisdom. Sometimes words of wisdom and warning can come from someone who may not consider themselves to be super spiritual. I personally find that it doesn’t even have to be someone who is popular or well liked, but they have made a habit of speaking the truth unabashedly. Their words can cut, but if our eyes are open those words will bypass our objections and call us to attention.

Another way that God warns us of impending demonic plots against us is through dreams and visions. They are the second-tier warnings. We might have recurring dreams that feature something that makes us uncomfortable, or perhaps someone close to us might have a disturbing dream about us. Sometimes these things are not consequential, but often they are wake-up calls, and we need to see them as a call to pray and press-in to Heavenly Father for His divine intervention.

If we fail to heed first and second tier warnings, we might find that a shift occurs in our external environments, and people and situations will begin to behave negatively towards us. Someone might go off on us or a situation with a more than slightly negative tone might hit us right out of the blue. We sometimes shrug this stuff off as meaningless, but we shouldn’t do that. It is a sign that we’re veering off the path of destiny and entering a territory where darkness prevails.

God has designed the universe in such a way that it is friendly towards our efforts to walk in the destiny He has ordained. We must remember that He didn’t restrict Adam’s and Eve’s eyes from darkness. They always had the option of seeing both God’s goodness and the evil of the devil. God warned them about choosing darkness, because He wanted them to always choose His love. He wants the same for us. We should always know that Heavenly Father will help to keep our eyes focused on His goodness, even though there is darkness all around. Just as He warned Adam and Eve, He warns us. Doing things like studying His Word, praying regularly, and spending quality time with God will always help us stay in a place of alertness. But if we’re a little lax in spiritual practice, Heavenly Father will warn us, and we would do well to heed His warnings. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Eyes Open to the Goodness of God”, written by JMack, theChristianMan.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.