It is clear that we humans have no idea what’s best for us.
I’ve been reading through the early chapters of Genesis. As God creates, He continuously says, “This is good.” So why don’t we believe Him? Why do we regularly turn away from Him to pursue something else – something far less satisfying, something that often causes trouble in our lives?
Forsaking Him
Genesis is full of examples. Adam & Eve choose to eat the fruit God had forbidden them to eat, forsaking the perfect relationship they had with the Father. Cain let his own jealousy and hard-heartedness get in the way of his relationship with God, but also destroyed the relationship he had with his brother Abel, whom he killed. It isn’t long before the whole earth is filled with wickedness, before “every intention of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6.5).
But it doesn’t end there. People gather together and attempt to build a city for themselves as a monument of their power and glory, instead of following God’s command to disperse and fill the earth. Abraham enters the land of Egypt (leaving the land God had given him) and lies to Pharaoh, letting him believe that Sarah is Abraham’s sister instead of his wife.
And we’re no better. God says, “Church is good,” yet we make excuses for not being committed to a local congregation. God says, “Friendship is good,” and yet we either shy away from developing solid friendships or we turn good friendships into inappropriate ones.
Family is good. Work is good. Serving is good. Time alone with God is REALLY good.
So why don’t we take God at His Word?
Unexpected Grace
But God doesn’t leave us alone, even as we pursue other things. He steps in, offering grace in unexpected and somewhat uncomfortable ways.
- With Adam and Eve, God kicked them out of the Garden, so they wouldn’t live forever separated from Him.
- With Cain, God separated him from the rest of the population and then gave him a special mark so that anyone who tried to take revenge on him for killing Abel, they would be cursed.
- Deciding to destroy the earth in a flood, God showed grace upon the family of Noah and provided them with the materials, tools, and instructions they would need to survive.
- God stopped the people from building the tower of Babel and dispersed them throughout the land. In other words, He destroyed their idol and put them in a place where they would follow His command to “multiply and fill the earth.”
- And with Abraham… well, God let Pharaoh know that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and she was returned to him. Both Abraham and Sarah were sent away from Egypt, back into the land that God had promised Abraham and his family.
What about you? Has God stepped in and shown you unexpected grace as you pursue something else? It may not feel like grace right now. It may actually feel like a negative consequence or punishment. But look at it through God’s eyes: He loves you so much that He doesn’t want you to continue living in sin. He has forgiven you and is inviting you to turn back to Him.
Will you take Him at His Word and believe that what He has said is good truly IS good? Will you trust Him in whatever area it is you are struggling with – church, friendships, family, work, service – and seek to grow in that area and learn to see it as God designed it to be?
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…” Romans 8.28
