How’s your relationship with the Lord?
The Garden Incident
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil … 6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked … Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard You in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” (Gen 2:16-3:10)
God’s rule in the Garden was to not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Well, Eve disobeyed and ate it and gave some to Adam. That sin changed everything in their lives. For the first time they realized they were naked, felt embarrassed, and even hid from God!
When the Lord came walking in the Garden, He called out to them, “Where are you?” Being God, He knew exactly where they were, so why did He ask?
I believe God asked that question to make Adam stop, look at his life, and realize exactly where he was spiritually. God wanted Adam to examine his own heart.
Adam’s sin created a major problem in his connection with God. He wasn’t just in a physically different spot; he was in a spiritually bad place. His relationship was damaged and strained and that drove him to hide from God.
Signs of spiritual problems in our lives
Adam’s spiritual condition was made obvious by the fact he was hiding from God but there are many other ‘signs’ of a spiritual problem in a person’s life. Keep a close eye on your life for signs of a spiritual problem. Are you
- Hiding from God or embarrassed before Him
- Angry at God
- Too busy for God
- Fighting against Him
- Not taking Him or your spiritual relationship seriously
- Not interested in Him or His Word
Examine your life and relationship with God regularly to see if there are signs of problems. Don’t just drift along in life. Take a minute right now to think about where you stand.
Think about it
Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord. (Lam 3:40)
- Where are you spiritually?
- How would you describe your current relationship with God?
- Do you think of Him often? Do you try to please Him and live right?
- How much time do you actively spend with Him? Is your prayer life and Bible reading a priority, or is it a rushed chore? Are you genuinely connecting, or just going through the motions?
- How do you feel about and toward God … distant, apathetic, angry? What do those emotions tell you about your spiritual relationship with Him?
How to be close again
If you realize you’re not where you want to be with God spiritually, you can fix that by turning back to Him through confession of sin, seeking Him, and living according to His Word:
I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to Your decrees. (Ps 119:59)
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jms 4:8)
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. (Jer 29:13)
BIBLE DEVOTIONS FOR LIVING 