Genesis 3:1-8 (NIV)
Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“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 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they realized they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Explanation:
I am reading a book at the moment by Havilah Cunnington called Stronger Than The Struggle- Uncomplicating Your Spiritual Battle. I am not that far in yet, but the chapter I was just reading talks about how satan works. He is super smart, conniving, and uses manipulation to trick us into thinking that God is not for us, we are not good enough for Him, and He couldn’t possibly love us with all our sin. This is spiritual warfare, and we are fighting a spiritual war every single day, friends.
God knows all our sin and our weaknesses, but wants to use them for good. On the other hand, satan wants to use our sin and our weaknesses to manipulate us, just like he manipulated Adam and Eve. Satan is so crafty. Do you see how he turns Eve’s statement into a question? She tells him that God said, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” Satan flips it and says, “You will not certainly die.” This is one of his many schemes. He will question what God said, and try to make you doubt. Then he will feed your mind and heart with lies, just like when he tells Eve that God knows when she eats from the tree, her eyes will be opened, and she will be like God, knowing good and evil.
This is just not a story; this is showing us how satan works and how God is always going to find a way to redeem us. No matter how crafty and manipulative satan is, God is always there to redeem us and get us back on the narrow path toward life. We must remember that we are fighting daily, and we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Sometimes I think we can judge Eve harshly for falling for the schemes of the serpent, but how many times have we listened to his lies? How many times have we doubted God, or in the moment followed our own selfish desires? We are all broken, and we all have fallen short, but the most important thing to remember is that we know who can restore us. God, and God alone!
Application:
When you read the story of the fall of man, what thoughts/emotions come to the surface?
Do you ever feel like you are being spiritually attacked? What does that look like for you?
What are some ways you can combat spiritual warfare in your everyday life?
Prayer:
God, thank You for always pursuing us, even when we fail. Thank You for loving us unconditionally and wanting to be in a relationship with us. I pray You would help us when we feel spiritually attacked. I pray You would remind us that we need You every single day. Help us to worship You more this week. Amen.