With Us // God Seeks Out

Life hasn’t exactly turned out like I would have expected it to.  But in all the grief and loss I have experienced the last few years, there is one truth about God’s character that seems to jump off the pages of the Bible repeatedly to me, without me even trying to find it – God’s nearness.  From Genesis to Revelation, the theme of God being with his people is woven throughout.  This aspect of God’s character has given me comfort, changed my perspective on my circumstances, and drawn me to him in ways I have never imagined. Because I can’t help but find these nuggets of “God with us” all throughout His Word, I thought I’d share some of those with you, here, in the form of short, regular devotionals.  Start off your week with the assurance that God is with you – and see how that changes things, no matter what you’re going through or where you are in life.  Ask God, “Meet me here” – after all, that’s the very thing he's asking you.

Genesis 3:1-13

“Now the serpent wasmore crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actuallysay, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to theserpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘Youshall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴ But the serpent said tothe woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it youreyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman sawthat the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, andthat the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of itsfruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was withher, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of bothwere opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leavestogether and made themselves loincloths.

⁸ And they heard the soundof the Lord God walking in the garden in thecool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from thepresence of the Lord God among the trees ofthe garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard thesound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and Ihid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told youthat you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not toeat?” ¹² The man said, “Thewoman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Context:

God hascommanded Adam and Eve not to eat of this tree.  Yet they did anyway.  They realized they were naked as their eyeswere opened, and they took the first step in hiding.  They then hid themselves even more,attempting to separate themselves from God. But God finds them.  He seeks themout.

Questions to Consider:

1. Adam and Eve have previously been freed to be with God at any moment.  But after they eat the fruit, deliberately sinning (disobeying God), they begin to hide, to create separation between God and themselves.  What do you notice about God’s response to their shameful hiding? What does God do?
2. We all have a tendency to pull away from God or hide from him, especially in our sin, or when we experience the effects of the brokenness in the world.  What is an area of your life where you find it particularly challenging to be near God with?  How might you take steps towards inviting him into that space?
3. God moved near to Adam and Eve, and he moves near to us, too.  Read Romans 5:6-11. Take a few minutes and respond to the reality that God has sought you out, in spite of yourself, through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

Lord,you are the God who seeks to be with us. You seek us out, even when we are far away, even when we arehiding.  We ask you, Lord, to continue todo that.  Give us the boldness and the braveryto be honest before you.  Remind us thatyou want to walk with us, that you’re the one who has always come near.  Give us the grace today and freedom to walkin honesty before you, knowing that you want to be with us, even when we’veblown it.  We love you – and we’regrateful. 

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Find all of the devotionals, including the introductory explanation post, here.