He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1, NIV)
All of us harbor a measure of skepticism. When, for instance, a high handicap golfer playing in a tournament shoots a surprisingly low score, we start asking questions: Is that score for real? How about the handicap? Sometimes it is our skepticism that keeps us from being duped!
When we gather as a group of believers to study the word of God, it is important to remember that questions are fair game. While the Bible is given to us and illuminated for us by the Holy Spirit, there will be times when our minds can’t understand or easily accept what we are reading. On the surface, tough questions may seem like a challenge to what God has revealed to us in scripture. But we must be open to the possibility that these questions instead will shut down the appeals of our flesh and recognize the excellence in God’s direction.
Eve’s response to the serpent in Genesis 3 helps us see the value of using our minds against the cravings of our flesh.
When Satan approached Eve as the serpent, he began by asking her what God had instructed her and Adam about the trees of the garden. She quoted the directive of God. But then Satan tested what she really believed. He challenged the weight of the mandate by contradicting the very consequence that God had told them would befall them should they disobey the rule. “You will not surely die,” Satan told her.
In the same way, Satan may enter our own thinking, challenging what we know to be plainly stated in scripture. He may whisper to us that God’s perfect desire is not so strict, really, in regard to a pure marriage bed, or a truthful testimony, or competing idols of our affection. He may tell us that everyone worries, everyone keeps a little for themselves, everyone lets their tongue run loosely now and then, everyone imbibes a bit more than they should.
At times such as these, we do best to step back and say a simple, “Wait a minute.” We do best to ask the most meaningful of questions—the same question our flesh will ask of us: “Did God really say that?” Check God’s word. Check it again. Check it with friends.
Let’s get this straight: It’s OK to think. God is plenty equipped to defend the honor of his person and his word. Ask questions of him and of those who love him. Quite quickly it will become clear again in your own mind: God’s word is as true and loving as he is!
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Jeff Hopper
March 8, 2012
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday at www.linksplayers.com.