Lay Down What Is Good And Find What is Best
“In the beginning,’ or better translated in the Genesis, ‘God created the Heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:1-5
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:14-16
God created all things and by Him all things were created. In seven days, God created the world, everything in it and He saw that it was good. It was perfect and without sin because God is perfect and without sin. He is holy and perfect!
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5
God created Adam and Eve and He told them they could have anything in the garden they wanted except to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They had everything they needed. There was nothing that they lacked. God supplied them everything and more. They were created in the image of God and placed above the rest of creation. Man was charged to tend to it. However, they were both deceived by the serpent. Eve reached for the fruit and ate it first. Then she gave some to Adam. He reached for the fruit and ate of it too. Their eyes were opened and sin entered the world.
This brings a question into my mind. What are WE reaching for? Adam and Eve had everything yet reached for the one thing they could not have. There were so many things in the garden God put there for them. It was the absolute best. However, they were deceived and chose to reach for something less than.
It makes me think and examine my life. What am I reaching for? There are a lot of things I see that are not what I need to reach for. There are some things that are bad and some things that are good. However, I need to only be reaching for the things of God and what is best. Like I said, I may even be reaching for something that is not bad. It might be good but it is not what is best for me. Am I reaching for only what God has given me and desires for me or am I being deceived and reaching for lesser sinful things?
The devil is prowling around like a lion seeking whom He may devour.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
Nothing has changed since then with the devil. God calls us to be vigilant and on our guard.
Some things in life may look good to us. The fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil looked good to Eve.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:6
However, after they both ate the fruit, it was no longer what they thought they wanted. They were disappointed. It did not satisfy because it was not what God wanted them to reach for. It was not what God desired for them. What are we picking? What are we reaching for? What are we eating? Something may look good to us. However, after we reach for it, we just may find out it is not what we thought it was. Sometimes, when I am farming, I see a really good fruit to my eyes. However, when I grab it, it can be rotten and full of worms and bugs. Suddenly it is not anything like I thought. What are we reaching for? What are we picking in this life? Is it what God wants? Is it what is best for us? Some things look REALLY good to me just like the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil did to Adam and Eve. However, when I grab one, it is not what I thought it was just like Adam and Eve picking from the fruit of the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. It is no good and disappoints me. It is what I thought I wanted but it is not what I needed to be reaching for in the first place.
Now, when I see something that the Lord wants, and perhaps it is further away and maybe even harder to reach, but it is good and what He wants! AND it is good! It is good because I am reaching for what God wants for my life and what is best.
I can relate to Adam and Eve in the garden. What are we reaching for? What are we striving for? Is it what God wants or is it not? Are we trying to play it safe or not work as hard? Maybe it is none of those things and it is just what we would rather have. HOWEVER, I have to ask myself the question. What am I reaching for in life? What does the Lord want for me, what does He want me to do, what does He want me to dwell on and what does He want me to accomplish for Him. That is the question I have to ask myself. Adam and Eve thought they were reaching for something good and it was not. Am I being obedient to what God wants me to reach for and what He wants me to strive for?
Been a few long months for me but the Lord is good even in those things. Just because we face hard things, hard days in life, think something is easier to reach for or I think is better, I need to be reaching for what I KNOW God WANTS for me to grab even if I cannot understand it. Instead of reaching for what I think I need and what I think is best, I need it to be what God wants because God only knows and I am going to trust Him. I hope you guys are encouraged. I hope that we all reach for things that God wants for us and to not be like Adam and Eve in the garden, where we have all picked from things of what we thought we wanted but not what God wanted and not what was best for us.
I hope you are encouraged and I hope that we reach for the things of God even if it is a little harder to get to. Stay in His Steps! His promises are true.
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God bless 🙌
