Waiting before the walking....

Wait·ing

/ˈwādiNG/

noun

• 1.the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens:"years of waiting"

Genesis 3

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Eve:

What if she would have put god’s word before HER emotions.

Waited... before taking action.

Asked God, "is there any truth to this thing I am being told?"

The fall. The part in the Bible, in our story, where everything changes. I’ve always read that verse, understanding the gravity of the choices made in that garden. The actions that shift it all. However it was my husband’s wisdom one night in bible study recently that got my mind reeling in a total different perspective.

See, god created US. To be in partnership and relationship with HIM. You know what’s pretty overwhelming when you think about it… God created the whole earth BEFORE man. He made the stars , the blue sky, the bright sun. He made all the mountains, all the beaches , the beautiful landscapes. He created all the birds, the flowers, the animals. And everything in it’s beautiful , perfect creation, he looked at it all and even still made man. He wanted someone to enjoy it all. And to enjoy it with HIM.

So when Eve ate the fruit, it wasn’t about breaking the “rules”. As Adam so amazingly pointed out, it was breaking a relationship. Trust in god and his word stopped in that moment. Breaking the very essence of what he had created us to BE. She ate that fruit and got Adam to partake in it too. Then they hid from God. Even after the sin took place, god was STILL walking, STILL looking for them. Hidden out of fear was their reaction.

Could it be, the first problem with Eve eating that fruit, was the fact that she didn’t stop to invite her relationship with her one true creator into the situation before she bit into it? Her actions not only affected herself, her actions effected the one person she was on the earth with. Adam acted after Eve, not before. Yet, she was given all the free will to make the choice she did.

What would have happened if given the information from that serpent, she would have cried out to god first for clarity or invited him into the conversation. Imagine how different that might have all played out if she would have just stopped. Instead of listening to something else or someone else’s voice, what if she just would have stopped, and allowed the voice and truth of god to help her make her final choice.

I wonder if satan went after Eve because he understood that as a woman there was a god-given nature to feel deeply, and to understand deeply. I’m not saying men don’t feel deeply and understand deeply, but women are wired differently than men in the way we think, it’s much more emotional for us. It was like he was telling her “you know, you can be the one in control if you do this“. Was there an emotional part of that, that Eve was acting on? A part of her that trusted something/ someone more than god?

How often as moms, wives, women do we just want to “feel” in control. It’s like we find our identity in it. That somehow if we “think” we are in control , we will “feel” it too. And we make these choices, without consulting our creator about it. Deciding how we want to raise our kids, talk to our husband, schedule our calendar. But what about God, what’s his plan in it all? Does he get a say? Ever? Do we trust him, fully, to give over all control?

I’m finding myself in such an awe and reverence of god.

The creator of all of this wants a relationship with me and you so deeply that he created us.

Can we even begin to understand the deepness of that LOVE?

I’ve been trying to grasp my hands around his love, yet it is far too big for me to hold.

Even the littlest piece of his love sustains us far more than we can imagine.

In that garden when the relationship with him changed, could you imagine how deeply it broke his heart?

God might not be a human but Jesus is, and he was there too, just as Holy spirit was.

Where there is great love, great sadness is found when it’s broken.

How much more today does he grieve for us not just ignoring a relationship with him but completely denying his existence?

He had a choice on who and what he placed into time and space.

He chose us.

He had given us everything.

The best of it all.

Our response , “ I want more. I want control”.

When I was walking around my life feeling like something was missing, it was because something was.

I was missing the understanding of who I was made to be.

How loved I am, and you too.

The holy, eternal, unfathomable god of this universe created US to be with HIM.

To experience his love through an active and ever present relationship.

Not through control. Certainly not through guilt.

Instead through love .

And that kind of love leads to surrender.

Admitting to him that he’s ultimately in control and always has been.

The power in that truth. The freedom in that truth. Oh my goodness, the love in that truth.

It’s unfolding in my very life daily.

What if, being put in the same position as Eve, the next time we are presented with a choice, an idea, a commitment, a job.. you name it…

we actually stopped and invited God’s will into it.

What if he actually got a “say” .

What would our lives look like, if his reckless love ordered our steps

instead of us trying to count and “control” our own?

Psalm 37:7

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Lamentations 3:25

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him.

Isaiah 40:31

Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.