Outside Eden

And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden;

and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8

God made us, the creation of His own image, first.  Then made a special place to put His created image, a place called Eden.  Eden, its very name means pleasure.  He made a beautiful place of pleasure for man to live.

It must have been indescribable, He had already created Earth, which is itself a masterpiece, but then He took extra care to take creation a little further and formed a garden who's very name meant pleasure - for man. 

Can you imagine what Eden must have been like?  As I close my eyes, I can hear the birds in full anthem, the soothing sound of waterfalls, a gentle breeze waltzing with the leaves, and I can feel the warmth of the sun at perfect temperature on my back.  Thinking upon a place of such perfection gives me goosebumps.

But there is something else that gives me bigger goosebumps -

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...

Genesis 3:8

As if a garden full of perfect pleasure weren't enough, even God, our Creator, was there.  He walked around to visit with them.

Oh, my.  The thought chills my skin.

God made man.

God made this place.

And He went there to be with man.

To talk to man.

To enjoy man.

A place of pleasure it was, free from the stain of sin for a brief time.  Then things changed.  We all know the story and it's sad ending.  The sad ending which we are still living out. 

Outside of Eden.

Outside of the perfect place of pleasure He designed for us to dwell in.

My friends, this life is hard, I know.   I know many of you are hurting and there are lots of things that we face and things that happen that don't make sense, leaving you heart asking that very hard question - "Why?".  Can I ask you to consider this? - 

We weren't intended to live here.

We were intended to live in Eden, walking with Him in the garden.

Oh yes, there's the explanation that bad things happen because we live in a fallen world, and that is very true, but sometimes it comforts me to know that He didn't intend for me to live here, He intended for me to live there, in the place of pleasure, but man - (or shall I say woman!) chose otherwise for me.  God didn't chose for me to reside here.  He wanted me to reside there.  Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore!

Why is a hard question, and I can't begin to know all the answers, but I do know that He can be trusted and so can His word, which says this:

There are secret things that belong to the Lord our God.......

Deuteronomy 29:29

I don't explain why I do everything I do to my girls when they ask, and believe me - They ask! Some things are just to big for them to carry. Could it be that there are just some things our Abba Daddy doesn't feel that He wants us to carry right now?  Some things are His secret, and it's for our best.

WE HAVE TO TRUST THAT HE IS COMPLETELY GOOD.  Living in the culture in which we do, it is very difficult to think without a smidge of skepticism since we have never seen anyone who is completely good.  That is where faith comes in. We would only have experienced completely good in Eden when He came to visit with us in the cool of the day.  The only way I can be settled knowing He has secrets that I don't know, not understanding the why, is if I trust that He is completely good. If I trust that He is 100% out for my 100% best, then I can settle in on the thought that it's ok for Him to have a secret or two. 

He will let us in on it all in the end (Matthew 10:26, Luke 8:17).

We are all traveling this foreign road outside of Eden together, so if you see someone struggling with why, walk along side them and remind them of what Eden would have been like. 

How can I pray for you today?

Royal Princess Daughter Of The King