“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”
Genesis 3:8
Now, my friends, we backtrack. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, it brought with it what would be an unending history of suffering as well. We can often fall into one of two ditches with suffering—either we make it the whole picture and cast ourselves as cosmic victims, or we diminish it in order to downplay the vital importance of sin. Both are wrong.
Every sin and sinner has a story accompanied by suffering. This was even true with the first sin. Adam and Eve could have simply shaken their fist at God in their sin (like their son Cain did later), but they didn’t. Instead, they hid. They saw their naked state of rebellion before God and felt ashamed. The voice that once filled their hearts with warmth and joy now brought fear. The darkness that suddenly befell them was devastating.
Suffering causes its own wounds in need of healing. And it is to the topic of suffering that we will turn next. As we do so, don’t forget that God put His own covering on Adam and Eve when they departed from the Garden. He’s been covering us with His care ever since.
Every sin and sinner has a story accompanied by suffering. This was even true with the first sin. Adam and Eve could have simply shaken their fist at God in their sin (like their son Cain did later), but they didn’t. Instead, they hid. They saw their naked state of rebellion before God and felt ashamed. The voice that once filled their hearts with warmth and joy now brought fear. The darkness that suddenly befell them was devastating.
Suffering causes its own wounds in need of healing. And it is to the topic of suffering that we will turn next. As we do so, don’t forget that God put His own covering on Adam and Eve when they departed from the Garden. He’s been covering us with His care ever since.
Scripture Focus
Genesis 3
Insight
We do not need to hide from God in our suffering. He knows; He cares; He saves; He heals.
Bible In A Year
- 2 Chronicles 21-22
- Psalm 18
- Matthew 25