genesis 3

Lessons from Cherith

He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Luke 24:38

During the time in my own land of Cherith, a place where I was separated from my home, my regular way of life and exposed to great sadness, I so needed to rely on the vast promises of God. Yet each day I battled the “why” of it all. Why didn’t the cancer doctors see and recognize the increased cancer markers in my beloved mother-in-law’s blood tests? Why did each visit to the emergency room end without answers? But more importantly, why would this woman, a shining light for God, an inspiring gift to everyone around her, a woman, as her pastor reflected at her funeral with a beautiful aura surrounding her, be stricken with cancer and taken so soon? Why God, oh why?

How often have we lamented that why question in our lives? Why are we suffering financially? Why is my child rebelling? Why is my marriage on the rocks? Why did I suffer that abuse? It seems as Christians we are expected to answer those questions. I believe many of us avoid speaking the Gospel to our friends, family and neighbors out of fear of being asked those why’s of life. In fact, as a young college student who was approached one day on my campus by two religious folks, I too asked the big why – why is there suffering? You see I believed in God but didn’t really know anything about Him. Unfortunately, neither did these two young proselytizers.

I recently heard the statement: “If we view the world as a Christian, it all makes sense.” On the surface that’s a real head scratcher since this world seems so upside down especially now. Broken families, broken lives, so much pain and death abound. But take a step back, way back to Genesis 3.

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. ¹⁸It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Genesis 3:17-18

And that’s just a taste of what man’s rebellion wrought. Creation is currently at odds with God. And just as cells divide and life moves without our intervention, our world around us is no longer under our full dominion. So yes, there’s floods and fire and famine and cancer. And it has absolutely nothing to do with whether we are a good person or not. In addition to this result of The Fall, we became separated from God, always seemingly looking for ways to buck His system. And we face the consequences for our actions, both individually and collectively.

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’” ²Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”  Exodus 5:1-2

And we know how well that went for Pharoah. But what was Moses’ first reaction after Pharoah knuckled down and made the Israelites work harder? “Why?” He asked God why did He have to make things worse and why did Moses have to be the brunt of everything? From a Christian point of view, we should say, “There’s consequences in this world when anyone chooses to not submit – whether you choose to believe in God or not.” This is not “Karma,” it’s simply a cause and effect of acting outside God’s desires for us.

And while we may cry out, “why?!” in the moment whether in situations of our own making or of those in which we have no power, we need to remember the “what.” What is God doing in me or even in the world? What is God expecting of me as a believer? What is the promise I can hold on to? The early Israelites had a decent excuse. They didn’t know God as well as we do now. They didn’t have all the stories of how He has rescued and protected His people. They didn’t have Jesus’ brother James telling them there will be trials and in them they need to seek the lessons of God. They didn’t have Jesus come to earth and die for their sins. They didn’t have the Book of Revelation. But we do.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So, each day as I sat beside Bev’s bed as her body succumbed not to cancer but to an infection, I battled the “why” demon. I wanted someone punished. I wanted someone to suffer like I was now suffering. Then I heard a whisper, “She gets to come home to me. And you need to see what I am teaching you.”

You see even in her suffering, on her death bed, this Christian called Bev was a conduit for Jesus. A teacher and a comforter. I finally realized it didn’t matter the “why.” For one, there really were no answers that fully satisfied. At times like that we just need to submit to God’s sovereignty and say, “I don’t know but He does.” The only real answers that I continued to come back to were the “what.”

What did I truly believe about God? And what was He trying to teach me?

Christian Friend, if you earnestly believe the Bible, believe that God is the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth and all it’s inhabitants, if you believe He is sovereign and He sent His Son to die for our sins, if you believe that there is a place greater than Eden awaiting us then you could understand why Bev wasn’t worried. Why she could make us all laugh at her darkest hour. Why, in the middle of a conversation she looked over my shoulder, waved and with a child-like voice exclaimed in joy, “Hi Jesus!”

²My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? John 14:2

You see I didn’t need to know the answers to my worldly questions and I definitely didn’t need retribution. I needed to remember that Jesus hates death because it’s a sign of our broken world. And He is right now preparing a room more beautiful than I can imagine for even me. When He comes back we will all be raised up to live forever in a beautiful place that has no suffering, no death, no pain, no war, no hate, no fear. And that is just what I needed to learn.

Are you asking “why” in your difficult time when you should be asking “what?”
What is the Lord teaching or asking you right now?

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

During December of 2020 many people kept announcing that “next year will definitely be better.” I could understand the longing, the hope and desire. Let’s face it, 2020 was rife with fear, loss, despair, and worry. I told people around me to be careful romanticizing the turn of a calendar. Who knew what 2021 would bring – floods, fires, more plagues, death, political uprisings? And it certainly didn’t disappoint. A short walk through say, the book of James or Jude, reminds us that trials of many kind befall us each and every year. It’s our response to those trials that set us apart from the world.

So often when we think of “new beginnings” we can think of them as an adventure, something exciting to embark upon. Probably something God will guide you through to success. But what if your new beginning is a result of a terrible trial? A loss? Will you still seek God and see Him at work in the midst of it all?

If there’s one man whose new beginning exemplified having to start all over, having lost it all, it was Adam. He had everything you and I could ever want. A beautiful home, plenty to eat and drink. No worries except what to name the next animal. His yoke was light. He was to be the way maker for all of us.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  Genesis 2:15

And when Adam failed to honor his end of the covenant he did what so many of us do when we fail God – he tried to hide. Instead of running to God asking for forgiveness He compounded his sins by acting shamefully. But God.

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9

Millions of Christians and non-believers know the story that took place in the Garden of Eden. But when we look at God’s actions we see His loving care for humans, His unique creation. He knew Adam had failed yet notice He didn’t let him go. He sought Him out with a gentle question. He could have immediately wiped the slate free of humanity after the betrayal. Instead, God clothed Adam in new garments and gave him new skills then sent him off on a new beginning. A chance to be the first step in the long path toward the new Adam – Jesus.

And Adam, by all accounts accepted the results of his sin and moved forward into his new beginning. A life outside the walls of Eden but one in which God was fully present. Adam and Eve didn’t step outside the gates, plunk down and give up. They didn’t choose to live in shame and despair. No, they knew God. They knew God still loved them and cared for them. So they took the new direction God gave them and made a new life. I love the last few lines in Genesis 4 in which Adam and Eve are mentioned:

At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.  Genesis 4:26

Adam and his family never stopped worshipping God and talking with Him even though they had suffered a great loss. They brought their first fruits to Him and stayed close to God. And their work, their new beginning, brought others to God as well. If not for their commitment to God’s new beginning laid out for them there wouldn’t have been their son Seth. And Seth led to Noah. Without Noah there wouldn’t have been a righteous man left to continue humanity. God’s plan at work. God’s plan working even when it comes out of sin or loss. It’s our job to keep trusting Him and accepting Him at His word.

I’ll be honest, for most of my life I’ve been an avowed pessimist. It’s taken a lot of work by our triune God to help me see Him in my trials. To see how He is working a good, new thing in our lives. When circumstances go wrong around me my new attitude is that God is in my midst. He does want all things to work for good. I may never know how my commitment to Him will affect the Grand Plan. But I do know He never left Adam and He will never leave you.

Have you been tempted to give up on God after a trial or loss? God is still working in your life. He’s asking you to trust Him. Call on Him today for strength to live in your new beginning.

Tag: genesis 3

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