Where Are You?

At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt

shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man[a] and his wife

heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the

Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid.

I was afraid because I was naked."
"Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord God asked.

"Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?"
The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it."
Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?"
"The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That’s why I ate it."
Gen. 3: 7-13 (NLT)

After not listening to God, Adam and Eve found themselves in a terrible predicament. Their first reaction was to cover up rather than "fess up." Fig leaves can never hide the root problem of sin, but even today, we still try this approach (v. 7). Instead of acknowledging and confessing sin, we often attempt a quick surface fix of the situation.

Adam and Eve’s second response was to avoid God. They knew they were guilty of disobeying, but instead of coming to Him to reestablish their relationship, they hid from Him in fear (v. 8). We can do the same thing when sin breaks our fellowship with the Lord. Have you ever found yourself avoiding prayer and time in the Scriptures because you were struggling with sin and felt guilty?

A third reaction was to try and avoid personal responsibility by blaming others (vv. 12-13). Shifting guilt to another person can’t remove it. We are each responsible before God for our actions, regardless of the circumstances or who else is involved.

Despite Adam and Eve’s sin and their evasive ways of handling it, the Lord came to them (v. 9). Our sin is never large enough to keep Him away; our Father still calls to us and asks, "Where are you?" He knows what we have done and why, but He questions us so that we can come to realize our desperate state.

Never let guilt or shame keep you from God. He continually seeks those who have made a mess of their life and speaks to them through His Word, His Spirit, and His people. Forgiveness and a restored relationship await all who are willing to listen and respond with confession and repentance.

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing to One Another!

Dawn