Believe and Be Your Best Self
I serve on the prayer team ministry at our church, and as part of that privilege, I meet with other prayer team members prior to the service to pray over the leadership, congregation, those serving that day, and to tune into God’s heart for that morning. Recently, one of my friends shared some incredible insight into the story of Adam and Eve during this early Sunday prayer meeting. It totally opened up my mind to a new way of seeing a story I had read and heard a million times.
My friend said that during her study time, God was revealing a bit of what was in Eve’s heart before the serpent ever approached her. She pointed out that if someone picks on you or tempts you in an area that you aren’t already struggling in, it has no power; those words will just roll right off and most likely not even leave a trail of dust to imprint into your subconscious. However, if what is said taps into something you’re wrestling with, no matter how deep or subconscious, those sticks and stones will really break some invisible bones. She went on to explain the key that turned the lock in Eve’s heart was when serpent said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, KJV).
This pricked her where it hurt because somewhere she was struggling with who she was. Maybe it was because God made all the animals first. Every single one. Maybe it was because God made Adam before her. Why not me, God? Maybe it was because God didn’t create her completely
new, but instead took her out of Adam, and she felt inferior somehow. Whatever the reason, the words of the serpent pierced her heart and mind, alluring her with the thought, Maybe I’ll be special too, or Finally! I’ll be just as good as Adam!
The sad truth was, she was already as perfectly created as Adam. God chose to make her differently not because she was inferior, but because she was special. She was already like
God, just like Adam was, because that’s how God made her and how God saw her. God’s truth was that Eve was like God in exactly the way God wanted her to be. Her identity and security wasn’t supposed to be defined by anything established around her nor by anyone else. She was made in the image of God. She was perfectly created. Period.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, she didn’t have that truth imprinted into her; she didn’t feel like it was true because on some level, she didn’t believe it. So, rather than standing firm in
God’s truth that she was already like God and wonderful just the way she was, she tried to find a new identity. One that could be unlocked by eating a piece of fruit.
How often do we do this? How often do we allow other people influence the way we perceive ourselves and believe in ourselves (reference the post on self-fulfilling prophecy for more information)? How often are we swayed by culture or the in-crowd? How often do we think, Sweet! If I just do XXX I’ll feel better, or If I just become XXX, I won’t struggle anymore. We get lured into taking a bite of something we think will fix our problems or make us feel better, but the
reality is, true peace, contentment, and security are found in Jesus. When we stand firm in the revelation of God’s truth about us in our hearts, we can see that fruit for exactly what it is…a poisoned apple full of empty promises. Let’s not be lulled to sleep or miss out on God’s best. Let’s believe God’s truth about who we are and be the best version of us we can be!
Smoker, C. Personal Communication. 25 April 2021.