Discovering where you are!
In Gen 3:9; God calls out to the man: "Where Are You?" and Adam says: "I heard you in the garden..." While the translation that says, "I heard your voice" isn't necesarily a bad one, it's probably not the best one either. In this passage is best translated literally as, "I heard the sound of you."
Adam heard the familiar sound of God. It might have been God speaking and calling out his name that Adam recognized, or it might have been the footsteps of God coming for the usual afternoon stroll through the garden. Either way, Adam knew that sound. It was the sound of God! Normally, he would have ran to the sound. But Adam was changed and now he was hiding. Adam isnt' really embracing what has happened.
If you are worried that you have outlived your usefulness. If you are concerned that you have missed your opportunity. If you are distraught that you have failed God, those things are actually clues that the Holy Spirit is moving you. You may have failed? But that doesn't mean that God is through with you. He wants you to find your way again. He wants you to rejoin him for daily fellowship.
This may be a little bit of a rehash from a previous post, but let me suggest three steps for Discovering Where You Are:
1) Address the issue! This starts with listening to the Holy Spirit speaking to you. Do a self inventory. Right now, pray, "Father, where am I?" Is there anything that is holding me back?
In Genesis 3:13 God addresses the issue. He says, "Adam and Eve, What have you done!?" Instead of backing away, God hits the problem head on. He is setting the example for us. If you have messed up, admit it. If you have faulty thinking, ask God for forgiveness. Don't hide, face up to it.
2) Deal with the temptation. Adam and Eve were removed from the garden immediately and a gatekeeper was setup to keep them from entering the garden and making things worse. Gen. 3:22-24
Setup Gatekeepers in your life. Nothing compares to having a small group of friends to walk your journey with you; to hold you accountable and to hold you up!
“But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)
Ask God for help:
Dear Lord,
You know the temptations that I am facing today. But your Word promises that I will not be tempted beyond what I can bear. I ask for your strength to stand up under the temptation whenever I encounter it. Your Word also tells me you will provide a way out of the temptation. Please, Lord, give me the wisdom to walk away when I am tempted, and the clarity to see the way out that you will provide. Thank you, God, that you are a faithful deliverer and that I can count on your help in my time of need. Amen
3) Learn from the experience. The most important result and the most exciting part of the story is that God immediately set out to bring restoration. He set in motion a plan to bring about a savior. Genesis 3:15, God tells the serpent that He will use the woman's offspring to "crush your head". In verse 21, God made garments of skin to cloth Adam and Eve. We find Him meeting our needs, covering our shortcomings and pointing us in the right direction. God is more concerned about the situation than you are. So learn from the experience and move forward.
Don't be like Jim! Friday at quitting time, Jim said, ‘Boss, have you got any extra work I can do tonight?’ Sure do but I can’t pay you overtime. That’s okay, I just don’t want to go home. Why not? Well, I’ve been in the doghouse since last night. I see...Why? What did you do to deserve that? I still don’t know, it must be one of those woman things. I was minding my own business relaxing in front of the TV.
My wife enters the room & asks, "What’s on the TV?"
And honestly, I swear all I said was, "Dust!"
She’s been mad ever since!
Join the conversation!
Do you have failures in your life that have become great learning tools?
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