Forbidden Fruit
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” - Genesis 2:15-17
Following God will require faith. Faith, as Hebrews 11:1 says, “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” When we have faith, we are trusting God with the things that we cannot see.
Faith can be the difference between a life of abundance and contentment, or a life of pain and regret. When we think we know better than God, that is when we get in trouble. Over the next few days, we are going to look at reasons that we think we know better than God, or reasons why we sometimes struggle to have faith.
The first reason we fail to trust God is because we want what He has forbidden for us. This was the very first sin when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15-17 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
Basically, God told them they could eat from whatever tree they wanted. They could do whatever they wanted. They just couldn’t eat from this one tree. But that wasn’t good enough. They wanted what God said they couldn’t have.
How often do you struggle to want what God says “no” to? You want another job even though God has told you He wants you where you are. You want another partner even though you are in a relationship.
Be careful. Do not dabble in the forbidden fruit. It was when Eve got close to the tree that she gave into the sin. Faith isn’t just about the good stuff. We must trust that God knows what is best for us. And sometimes, that means avoiding what He has forbidden.
Following God will require faith. Faith, as Hebrews 11:1 says, “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” When we have faith, we are trusting God with the things that we cannot see.
Faith can be the difference between a life of abundance and contentment, or a life of pain and regret. When we think we know better than God, that is when we get in trouble. Over the next few days, we are going to look at reasons that we think we know better than God, or reasons why we sometimes struggle to have faith.
The first reason we fail to trust God is because we want what He has forbidden for us. This was the very first sin when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15-17 says, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’”
Basically, God told them they could eat from whatever tree they wanted. They could do whatever they wanted. They just couldn’t eat from this one tree. But that wasn’t good enough. They wanted what God said they couldn’t have.
How often do you struggle to want what God says “no” to? You want another job even though God has told you He wants you where you are. You want another partner even though you are in a relationship.
Be careful. Do not dabble in the forbidden fruit. It was when Eve got close to the tree that she gave into the sin. Faith isn’t just about the good stuff. We must trust that God knows what is best for us. And sometimes, that means avoiding what He has forbidden.
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