“And [the serpent] said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?'” – Genesis 3:1
When I think about how close I want to be with God, I think about how fortunate Adam was when he and God would walk and talk together in the Garden of Eden. Can you imagine how glorious that must have been? Sadly, I don’t think Adam truly understood what he had.
So, let’s talk about temptation – the first temptation, where the Devil tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Have you ever read the passage in Genesis 3? Note what the serpent did:
- He raised questions about the trustworthiness of God’s Word.
- The seeds of doubt were planted in Eve’s mind.
- When Eve said she’s not to eat of the fruit or she’ll die, the Devil replied cunningly, “You surely shall not die.”
The ultimate liar accused God of lying. He made his own deceitful word seem true and God’s Word seem unbelievable.
Isn’t it sad that Adam didn’t say to her, “The fruit of that tree may look good to eat, but God told me not to eat from that tree. Even though it is tempting, it is something I won’t do because I love God.”
But, that’s not the way it happened, is it?
Think about temptation in your own life. It usually means believing your way is better than God’s way. When we begin to doubt the Bible as our only reliable source for living life the best way, we begin to give into temptation–we buy into the lies and half-truths of the world.
For Adam, for Eve, and for all of us, those lies can lead to spiritual death. Decide to believe God’s Word–it is the best way. It’s the only way. Ask God to give you strength to live it and resist the temptations of this world.
