"I AM the answer. And I AM all you need."
According to Genesis 2, 3, 4, 6
Recently, I felt directed to read the early chapters of Genesis in God's Word. So I turned to Genesis 2, 3, 4, then 6 in the Bible. The Genesis accounts seem a perfect example of a verse in Job which says: "Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward!" I was amazed in Genesis 2-6 that much of what I saw there was the story of my life! During this reading I was seeing mostly the "negative" things. I read about Adam, Eve, the serpent, Cain. Every mistake they made, I had made. The tricks Adam and Eve fell into, the same serpent (satan the accuser, tempter, deceiver) has tried for years on me and my friends and family. I was amazed at how many different conflicts I saw between people, all different kinds of conflicts in all kinds of relationships.
To back up a little bit, it seemed like a great thing was happening with Adam there toward the beginning (Gen. 2-3). He had the same problem I sometimes have: "It is not good for man to be alone." And GREAT, the Lord took care of that for him. Before long though, here comes the BITTERSWEET. Yes, marital conflict. Tempation, sin. Wife & husband go off on a tangent together and DISOBEY GOD. Then in comes fear & discouragement and depression and sadness. So in a way it seemed like marriage, trying to cure loneliness, really led also to more problems. Then (in Cain), the BITTERSWEET took a step further and Eve "gave birth to" even more family conflict (Cain vs. Abel) & so now the marriage made in heaven had problems with children. Well, so much for paradise. (Oh, yeah, that's right, we already EXITED paradise awhile back.) Now we are east of Eden in a land called paradise lost.
I was struck by Gen. 4 "Eve conceived and brought forth a son (Cain)." It hit me this way...that the falling sin direction, which by now had gained momentum in Adam's family, expressed itself next in the world (and in Adam's family) in the conception of (i.e. passed along, continued on in) children. But in this case, the son (Cain) was a "giving birth to" family conflict. And we read later in Gen. 4 the conflicts which emerged between Cain and his brother Abel.
We never think about the parents in Gen. 4 (Adam & Eve). But conflict between the two sons (brothers) surely brought stress and burden to the whole family. Then Cain killed Abel (and now Eve weeps over her dead son), Adam's family is now stricken with grief. First sin, then sadness.
Notice, SADNESS followed sin.
Some people believe lies, with a serpent's twist in their mind, thinking God is a "bad guy" whenever He seeks to instruct us to avoid sin. Why that's PARTY POOPING! Yet does any of this reasoning sound like the serpent's speech to Eve in Gen. 3? The truth is that SADNESS often follows sin. Yet satan reasoned with Eve that BLESSING would follow disobedience. Where is the twist?
The serpent said: "Hey, the REAL reason God told you not to do certain things is because those things would bring pleasure and GOOD to your life! The things you say are forbidden by God's Word are really blessings God is holding back from you. You must have misunderstood. The better life is in going against God. If you indulge freely, sin WON'T lead to hurt or harm. You won't die. This is the best there is! Maybe you weren't reading your Bible right. Just forget all that and follow what I'm showing you. (satan sounds like the tricky voice of self-indulgence & throwing caution to the wind. The tempter says:) I'll give you a life that's BETTER than what God has for you. Have what's best. Come and eat." And Gen. 3 & 4 tell the rest of the story.
The truth though is, that in Gen. 3 & 4, SADNESS, conflict & heartache followed the various sins of Adam's family. This is the principle of sowing and reaping taught in Galatians 6. "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his flesh (earthly sin bent), from the flesh will reap destruction and death. The one who sows to please the Spirit (of God) will reap eternal life."
Anyway, I'm THROUGH with dwelling on all the Genesis negatives. But I read Genesis, from this angle, the other day and I was amazed to see that earliest man suffered exactly all the same things we do! These are the VERY SAME problems, sins, griefs and troubles that I have known MY WHOLE LIFE! Truly the story of my life.
Genesis 2 My problem: Loneliness
Genesis 3 Our problems: Temptation, sin, living in a world where lies surround, believing lies then disobeying God, marital conflict (man accuses woman in the midst of marriage problems, etc.)
Genesis 4 Problem: Marriage gives birth to further family conflict (in Cain), conflict between brothers, problems with children, grief over loss of a lived one (Abel's death). Sin leads to sadness
Genesis 6 Mankind's problem: Inclinations of the heart often toward evil
Has this whole scenario of man's problems got you depressed yet? The reason why all of this Gen. 2-6 eye-full hit me so hard was that I have been so very aware, painfully aware, of exactly these problems. If they're not recently in my own heart, they are affecting some relationship I'm in, or going on amongst brothers, or hurting a family I know. Somewhere, in my face & all around me, for months and heavily the last few years, these kinds of things have been BUGGING ME BAD.
Seasons of loneliness, temptation, the buffeting of a world of lies, conflicts with others, grief, struggling with evil. Often life can seem full of these.
By the time I got to Genesis 6, I was honestly, distraught. I threw up my hands - and in exasperation - cried out to God: "WHAT is the ANSWER!!!???" A clear, quiet, yet strong, Voice spoke to my mind immediately, inspiring great confidence:
"I AM the answer. And I AM all you need."
When the Lord whispered this to my mind, it was like a lifesaver being thrown to a drowning man. All of a sudden I had SOMETHING TO HOLD ON TO. Life wasn't just full of problems. Now there had come into view an ANSWER. THE ANSWER.
An amazing thing I have found is that when God speaks, FAITH COMES. Rom. 10:17
I probably had lost sight of Someone (the last few months - or years). Sometimes my biggest problem may be that, so surrounded by a world full of problems and trials, I forget there is SOMEONE Who KNOWS all about those problems AND HE HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, more than anybody, helping people with THOSE VERY PROBLEMS. God has been practicing counseling, therapy and intervention for life's crises since Genesis 3!!!
My job is not to solve my problems or run from them or take them too seriously or even try to make them go away. What I need is the Voice which says: "I AM the answer. And I AM all you need." If I turn to Him, the whole picture can be remedied. Jesus died on a cross. For all THESE things. For me.
Most Christians already know. But, believe me, when Gen. 2, 3, 4 & 6 fill your life, it's REAL EASY TO FORGET!
Finally, when I got to the later parts of Genesis
6 (about Noah), I was ENCOURAGED! It said: "Noah was a righteous man,
blameless among the people of his time. And Noah WALKED WITH GOD." -
Gen. 6 I thought: "God, that's what I want! In a world that's totally
messed up exactly like Your Word describes, help me to be a man who
WALKS WITH GOD!" If I keep my eyes on You and hold Your hand, then
YOU (Jesus) will be the ANSWER to this world so full of problems. And
it's FULL! But You, Lord, are BIGGER. You are all we need. ALL we
need. Hallelujah! There is hope for the world if we TRUST IN JESUS.
There is hope for the world TODAY.
Grace to you,
brother Jeff
Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, help me stand. (When) I am
tired. I am weak. I am worn. Through the storm, through the night,
lead me on to the Light! Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me
home.
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