“Good And Evil”

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7

The serpent planted a doubt in Eve’s mind about whether God had been good to her and had her best interest at heart. Satan tried to convince her to believe that God was holding out on her and not giving her something really good – more knowledge.

Do you feel as though God is not answering your prayers? Are you tempted to doubt His goodness? Remind yourself that your circumstances are not the barometer of God’s love and goodness – the cross is. He has shown how good He is by giving His only Son Jesus to die for our sin. We can not rely on our feelings. But day by day as we choose to trust Him more, we learn to believe with confidence that God is good – all the time.

The seasons will change, a warm summer afternoon changes to a cold snowy winter day, but God is constant. He is the beginning and the end, and He is always good.

Our Daily Bread – February 24, 2008