God always gives us choices, and this is something He will never stop doing. Think back to Adam and Eve. The bible tells us in Genesis 2:3 that on the seventh day God rested from all His work. This means He completed everything He set out to do, and you and I are commanded by Him to always remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Part of His creation was the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 2:9 tells us that He placed these trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden, and He gave Adam specific instructions. In Genesis 2:16-17, God told him that he could freely eat the fruit of the other trees, but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because eating of this tree would lead to certain death.
You and I have to think about this, because we now know the incredible trouble for humanity that eating the fruit from this particular tree caused. The consequence of acting on the temptation to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was catastrophic. It allowed sin to enter the physical temples of Adam and Eve, and every human after them. It caused them to lose their holiness, and it allowed the devil to take possession of the dominion and authority God had originally given to Adam and Eve. Heavenly Father has foreknowledge. He knows what is going to happen before it occurs. He knew Adam and Eve would mess up and give-in to the devil’s temptation. To prevent this debacle from happening, God could have hidden the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil from Adam and Eve. Or, He could have chosen not to place it in the Garden of Eden at all, but that’s not how our Heavenly Father does things.
He doesn’t restrict our choices regarding whether to sin or not sin. He allowed Adam and Eve to be tempted because God has given us the freedom to choose who we are going to be. This is how love behaves. Love gives freedom. It doesn’t restrict choices but allows them. God is showing us how much freedom and liberty He has extended to humankind. He’s given us the gift of free-will, and He has restricted Himself for all of eternity, because He will never overstep or takeback this gift of free-will from us. Romans 11:29(NLT) states, “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.” God will never take back the blessings that He’s given, but He will certainly allow us to lose or forfeit those blessings of our own free will.
There was absolutely nothing that Heavenly Father withheld from Adam and Eve. Everything they needed to be fulfilled and happy, God provided, but the devil planted a seed of doubt in their minds. Because of this, they began to think they weren’t as blessed as the goodness of God had made them and that they needed more to be better. They were no longer satisfied in who and what God had made them. In Genesis 3:5, the devil told Eve, “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” She was convinced and enticed by the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she wanted the wisdom she believed it would offer.
Arrogance entered Eve’s mindset, and then Adam’s; and arrogance will always cause catastrophic results. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that pride goes before destruction and an arrogant spirit will cause a person to fall. We can see clearly that this is one of the reasons that Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience is called ‘The Fall of Man’. They were at the very top. They then declined so catastrophically that the depths of their fall caused a breach in their relationship with God that they were incapable of ever repairing.
We must have a thankful heart for the blessings of God, and it requires us to trust that in the presence of His goodness, we have all we need. And if we need more, we must have absolute faith He will provide it. It is His purpose we must seek to fulfill, not our own.
We grow up looking for things that will make us feel successful, powerful, and happy. Many people believe that money will do this for them, so they make their whole lives about the pursuit of money. Then one sad day they discover they’ve been chasing an illusion, and money doesn’t make them happy at all. Others think they can find what they are looking for through fame and celebrity. Then, when they have these things, they figure out that it doesn’t fill the void in their souls either.
God knew that many of us would be tricked by the devil into believing that something besides God can make us whole, but this simply isn’t true. He’s the parent and we’re the children. He is the Supplier, the Source of all we need, and we are to seek Him and His righteousness in order to be fulfilled and happy in life.
2Peter 3:9 (NLT) tells us, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” Like the believers in the bible, many of us want Jesus Christ to hurry up and return, and we might make the mistake of thinking that God is slow to bring His promise to pass. 2Peter 3:9 assures us that He isn’t slow, but patient for our sakes.
Heavenly Father could have prevented humanity from taking the disobedient route, but He set things up in a way that allows us the liberty to grow, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. Notice that He doesn’t rush us through this process. He’s patient with us as we would expect any loving father to be. Through the Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have all we need to stand strong. God has done all the heavy lifting to make this our reality. Just as He allowed Adam and Eve to make their own choices, He patiently waits on us to wake up and realize that He is all you and I will ever need. ■
“God Is All We Need”, written by JMack, 4theChristianMan.com© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.