The previous daily devotion dealt with the tactic of the devil as he attempts to lead people astray. At the heart of his strategy is a desire to get you to question the holiness of God and His ability to follow through on what He promises to do.
To read part 1, please click here
After Adam and Eve disobey the Lord and give in to the temptation offered up by the enemy, the LORD pursues them. Genesis 3:8 says, "And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." What will they do? Will Adam and Eve plead for forgiveness? Will they attempt to play it off as though nothing happened?
The rest of Genesis 3:9 gives us the tragic answer. "The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God," the text reads. They hide. The God who created them, the One who brought into existence all they need for perfect pleasure and fulfillment, the LORD their God who rules all things, finds His creation running from Him.
Adam and Eve, it seems, are engaged in a cosmic game of hide and seek. Do they really think the God who made all that is does not know where they are? Could they possibly think they are going to win this game?
God's response is clear in verse 9 as it states, "But the LORD God called to the man..." That's right. God pursues them. Just like He did Jonah. Just as He did Saul of Tarsus. The LORD pursues Adam and Eve. They will not be able to escape His judgment.
As it has been said before, you may be able to temporarily ignore God, but you cannot permanently avoid Him.
It is easy for us to watch this scene unfold and see the foolishness of trying to Hide from the sovereign Creator. Imagine, pretending He doesn't know everything they've done and how they try to hide it.
Yet, that is often exactly what we so often still do today. We disobey the Lord and go about our business as though He does not know. We pretend that His Word will not come to pass. It seems it is always easier to see the insanity of rebelling against the Lord in somebody else's life.
Are you trying to hide anything from the Lord? Are there any "secret sins" that you tolerate that you have convinced yourself God does not see? Is your relationship with God suffering because you find yourself running from Him?
If so, this very moment, call upon the Lord and confess your sin. Acknowledge the things you have done that are not pleasing to Him and come clean before your God. No more running...no more hiding. Come out from "among the trees of the garden" and approach the Lord in faith on the basis of mercy. Away with trying to hide from God. Let us, instead, draw near to our God and resist the devil (James 4:9-10).
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