“Walking with God” 

By Kelsie Ellison

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Genesis 3:1-15

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

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8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[d] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

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14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring[e] and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

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

When the leaves begin to change colors and the brisk air chills your face when you go outside, you begin to appreciate the beauty of the fall season. It’s not too cold to rush indoors, and just cool enough to enjoy the fresh air and beauty of nature. The weather is almost perfect. 

Imagine that in this perfect weather you got to walk alongside your Heavenly Father, hearing the sound of His feet next to yours on the pavement or the crunch of leaves under His stride. The joy, love, and confidence that you feel walking next to your God, the King of the universe, is shown in a smile on your face. Being able to literally see God and know that He is with you would give you secure trust in the Lord and in His promises. Right? 

We eagerly await the day when we will see God face to face, but in the meantime, we are tasked with a challenge: trust God in all circumstances. Easy, right? 

We often forget that we can experience some of the same intimacy that Adam and Eve shared with God through the Holy Spirit, God living in us. We can also hear from God through His breathed Word, the Bible. And yet, we often forfeit these life-giving resources by viewing them as mundane. This leaves us vulnerable, and we can fall victim to the same lie that Eve found herself believing, “Did God actually say…?” We are deceived into questioning whether God’s Word is true and trustworthy, and we doubt God’s presence with us. 

Time after time, God’s Word remains true. Season after season, His Word does not fail. Through the stories of the Old and New Testament, His Word reveals his character, which grows our confidence in Him. Through the poetry of the Psalms and Proverbs and the writing of the prophets, we hear God’s voice calling to us, asserting His unwavering, never-ending love for us and guiding us in the way of life and wisdom. 

While we await the glorious day when we will see God face to face and experience the majesty of His presence, we must take the opportunities we have now to experience God’s presence and hear His voice. His Word and His Spirit living in us are like diamonds, beautiful at first glance and even more beautiful as you look at them from various angles and lights. I want to invite you to explore this beauty.

REFLECT

• What tempts you to believe that God’s Word will not prove true for you? 
• Think of one way that you need to grow in your trust of God. Find a Scripture that gives you confidence and write it down.

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