Written by Aisha Darwesh
The Word
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.
–Genesis 3:1-8 NLT
22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life!
–James 1:22 TPT
Aisha’s Analysis
In today’s verses from Genesis chapter 3, we see how the serpent builds a case to convince Eve to willfully violate God’s command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He begins by asking Eve a question:
“Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
–Genesis 3:1 NLT
By causing her to question God’s word, the serpent introduced doubt into Eve’s life. At this point in her life, Eve had no reason to doubt God. He formed her by hand and led her to Adam. She enjoyed a beautiful life in the garden of Eden where there was no stress or any of the negative effects of the curse. Creation was glorious and life was good.
So what happened? A simple question caused a downward spiral into oblivion: “Did God really say…” (v. 1).
First a question, then a lie. After Eve responds to the serpent’s question with her interpretation of God’s command, the serpent responds with a bald-faced lie:
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
–Genesis 3:4 NLT
Again, we see a deeper questioning of God’s character and intentions. The serpent led Eve to believe that God was withholding something from her–something good that could make her wise.
This is how the enemy builds a case for sin: by causing us to question God and put our faith and trust in something else outside of God. We are led astray and into deception by doubting God.
This leads one to wonder, how can we prevent being deceived? James 1:22 gives us a beautiful antidote:
22 Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life!
–James 1:22 TPT
We can express our love, faith, and trust toward God by obeying His Word at any cost. If Eve would have simply trusted God instead of the serpent, she would have never eaten the forbidden fruit. Every instance of not partaking of the Tree of Knowledge would have solidified her trust in God, and she might have stumbled upon the Tree of Life.
While the story didn’t go that way, we can rest assured that we serve a loving God who is not afraid of our failure and mistakes. Even after Adam and Eve blew it by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, God came to them gently with a cool breeze. He is faithful and someone we can love, trust, and surrender our lives to.
Application
If you are finding it difficult to obey God in a particular area of your life, you might have trust issues with God. Not believing in His Word and not believing in Him and His good character and nature will cause us to drift away and cling to something else that is sure to disappoint.
Conversely, choosing to trust God and His promises will lead to faith-filled, Holy Spirit-inspired action. Learn to trust God by reading and meditating on His Word and spending time in prayer and with other believers. Being with God and learning to trust Him will lead to a life of holiness. The more you respond to God in faith, the more you will begin to act like the Word of God is true.
Prayer
Father God, thank You for making a way for me to be right with You despite my own shortcomings. By choosing to sacrifice Your only begotten son, my sin is atoned for, and I can now enjoy unbroken fellowship with You. Thank You for Your great love towards me. Help me to know and trust You more. Open doors to make Christ as plain as day to me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
City Life Starter 
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