Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And 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 midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely 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 themselves loincloths.(Genesis 3:1-7 ESV)
What would happen if we chose to listen to the Spirit first? Without hesitation? Without thinking through something ‘logically’? We all live through Genesis 3 every. single. day. Always having to make a decision.
I’m hungry. Should I have an apple or a piece of cake?
Well, the apple is definitely healthier. Less calories. I’ll fit into my skinny jeans sooner.
But…
the cake only has about another day left until I have to throw it out. That cake cost a lot of money. It would fill me up more than the apple. And I could put the apple in the fridge and it’ll keep longer.
Cake it is.
And what happens after you make the ‘bad’ decision? Regret. You should have had the apple. And you know you should have. But in the moment the cake tasted so good! For that brief moment.
Thankfully our God knows we’ll choose the cake. And His grace is abundant. He lovingly teaches us through our bad decisions. What we feel as guilt is simply our resistance to His teachings. Take a chance and listen to the Spirit first. How many times in the Bible do we see followers working out something ‘logically’ in their heads first? If they did, they wouldn’t have followed through with their faith living actions.
Examples: Moses crossing the Red Sea. Noah building an ark. Joshua marching around Jericho. Esther talking to the king. Mary keeping her baby. Paul walking out of jail. John writing down his dream {Revelation}.
Be different. Listen to the Guide that has been sent to us. Without hesitation do what He calls you to do {as long as it does not contradict His word}. No matter how crazy. Step outside your comfort zone and risk looking like a fool for His sake. And do it lovingly, just how He is to us.
Blessings!
