In Genesis 3, an intense scene is unfolding.
Adam and Eve had committed a sin that would affect generations upon generations. They had been disobedient to their Creator. The Lord created Adam and Eve and gave them a simple command, “You can have anything you desire but do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
He warned them that if they did this, they would surely die. Yet, despite the warning, they chose to disobey. The cleverness of the serpent to convince them that God’s word wasn’t supreme lead them to doubt. Their choice was so monumental that we are still suffering to this day.
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:4-6
At this moment, life would change forever for them. Sin had been introduced to mankind. Shame now covered their once pure eyes. Curses were unleashed due to their choice to disobey the Lord. And the very place that God had created for them would no longer be suitable for them. The way they would eat, how hard they had to work, and even where they lived radically changed in a moment. Sin had destroyed the beauty of creation, and someone had to carry the penalty.
Yet today I want to draw you to the Lord’s initial response to Adam and Eve.
But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” Genesis 3:9-13
Before God responded to their choice He asked them three crucial questions.
In this moment, they chose not to take responsibility for their actions but to hide and blame one another. But, I believe God wants us to pause and ponder these three crucial questions and what it means for us today.
1.) Where are you?
Literally…where are you? When it comes to your spiritual walk, where do you find yourself? Are you closer to God than ever before? Have you walked away? In other words, what is your spiritual condition? This question is a heavy one and causes us to self-reflect and ask ourselves if we are whole-heartedly following the Lord. This question of, “Where are you?” challenges us to discover if we are living a life of unrepentant sin, lack trust in the Lord, or spend time with God at all.
Today, I believe the Lord wants to challenge us with this first question. Surely, what would our lives look like we were fully faithful followers. If we made a choice to seek Him when we are confused and trust Him when we are anxious. In the story of Adam and Eve, it is clear that their spiritual condition needed perfecting. Eve was able to be swayed by the serpent versus running to the Lord. Had she been focused in her walk with God, she would have quickly run to the Lord and told him about how the serpent was attempting to deceive them. I am certain that the entire story of mankind would have been altered had they made this choice.
Even today, we must ask ourselves where we are. Are our lives reflective of walking by the Spirit? If Jesus were to come today where would He “find” us? My prayer is that He wouldn’t find us in a lifestyle of sin, cursing out our neighbor, cheating on our spouses, or being envious of our friends. Instead, my prayer is that He will find us actively seeking to Him, taking care of those in need, praying for others, and surrendered to His will.
Today, I ask you, “Where are you?”
2.) Who told you?
The second question the Lord asks is “Who told you?” In other words, where did you get your information? With this question, God wanted to know who had told Adam and Eve they were naked. Before this time of eating the forbidden fruit, they had no concept of shame in front of one another. Yet, God found them hidden and knew that they had been disobedient. The truth is, they had a sense of awareness that they hadn’t before due to eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Yet, I believe this question is still relevant to us today. As we think over our lives, insecurities, and beliefs, we must ask ourselves, “Who told us?” Who influenced our thoughts? Who made us feel like we were worthless or that our dreams couldn’t be achieved? Who told us that God wasn’t real or that He couldn’t answer our prayers? Perhaps you have been influenced by media, by unbelieving friends, or by the enemy’s whispers that leave you doubting God. Is it that you’ve been swayed by the world’s viewpoint of who God is and are unsure if God is even good?
Whatever the case may be, the Lord wants us to remember that we must place our trust in Him. We must allow His voice to be our primary source. Any voice that contradicts the Word will only cause us pain, distraction, and confusion. Google will never be a substitute for God. Our family or spouse will never have all the answers. Our education and human wisdom will only take us so far. Our sole source of hope, strength and truth must be the Lord. We know his voice through intentional prayer and studying His word. This is evident in the following verses.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:25
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:5
3.) What have you done?
And the final question God asks man is “What you have done?” In this moment, God turns to Eve and asks her to take responsibility for what she had done. What did he do when she heard Satan’s words about God? What did they do after realizing they had sinned. Notice, it wasn’t important what anyone else had done. God wanted to ask each of them directly what and why they had committed their actions.
Today, I believe the Lord wants to ask us the same questions. What are we doing when it comes to our relationship with the Lord? Do we follow whole-heartedly, or do we disobey His word with gladness? In the same way, the Lord wants to know what we have done in a great way. Have we shared the Gospel without pause? What have we done with the giftings He’s placed inside of us.
No matter how we view the fall of man, it is a clear reminder that God has given us free-will. We can choose to live a life that is easily swayed by the enemy and the world’s standards, or we can follow God’s plan for our lives. Ultimately, this story reminds us that we will be held accountable for those choices. Romans 14:11-12 says it like this,
It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
When stand before God, we won’t be able to blame the person beside us as Adam did. We won’t even be able to blame the devil as Eve did. We will have to take a full account for our life, how we treated people, and how we loved God. In a day of great access to technology, we will even have to give an account for every social media post that caused someone to stumble. Thank God for the saving grace of Jesus as we would all be found guilty!
Today, I want to challenge you to ask yourself these three questions often.
There is victory in self-reflecting and comparing your actions to God's will!
Ponder where you are in your walk with the Lord and how you can go deeper. Perhaps God will lead you to pray more, join a Bible study, or give you strength to overcome a paralyzing addiction. Next, ask yourself, who is currently influencing you. Is your walk with the Lord influenced by the world or His word? Lastly, reflect on what your response has been to the enemy’s lies and to God’s truth. These three questions can reignite us to seek God daily and develop a deeper relationship with Him. The closer we are to Him the wiser we can become on the schemes of the enemy. Let us be intentional about walking so close to the Lord that we know His voice and follow it with gladness, no matter what the enemy throws our way.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Victoria Riollano is an author, blogger, and speaker. As a mother of seven, military spouse, recording artist, Psychology professor and pastor’s wife, Victoria has learned the art of balancing family and accomplishing God’s ultimate purpose for her life. Recently, Victoria released her books, The Victory Walk: A 21 Day Devotional on Living A Victorious Life and Warrior Mother: Equipping Your Heart To Fight For Your Family's Faith. Her ultimate desire is to empower women to live a life of victory, hope, and love. She believes that with Christ we can live a life that is ALWAYS winning.
*The above article was originally featured on ibelieve.com *
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