Eve Lived in Paradise
By Olivia Barnes
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:31 KJV
God was pleased with His creation.
God is perfect and therefore for Him to be pleased with His creation it must too have been perfect, the flawless beauty of creation, a sinless world, newly formed. Close your eyes and simply try to imagine the spectacular beauty.
While we might try to imagine, what we have witnessed of God’s creation cannot come close to Adam and Eve’s lived experience; a flawless world.
Eve lived in paradise.
But Eve lost sight of all that God had blessed her with, she lost sight of the majesty of creation and her blessings; and when tempted she focused in on the one thing she could not have. She had everything apart from this one thing, and in reaching out to take it she lost everything.
Some of God’s richest blessings can often become commonplace, they become part and parcel of our everyday life that we forget that they are blessings. Do not forget. Talk about your blessings, more than your burdens. Our blessings are too numerous to count – try it, sit down with a pen and start to list your blessings, you will soon realize it is an impossible task. The blessing of our senses and the experiences they enrich; the breath within our lungs; the ability to read and write; the ability to wake in the morning and know that God created us and God loves us. He sacrificed His only Son so that we can have a relationship with Him.
Talk about your blessings, more than your burdens, live a life of thanksgiving. Knowing that whatever the burden you face today, blessings can and will flow from it.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4 ESV
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 12:6 ESV
Do not let the things you do not have turn your eyes away from the God of all creation, and distract you from the blessings He has given you.
Choose to see the blessings.
Each night I ask my three-year-old what he would like to thank God for that day and his answers are so pure and joy-filled. Last night he thanked God for cows – when was the last time you thanked God for cows? They provide us with an endless list of blessings: meat, gelatin, milk, butter, cream, cheese, yogurt, even the luxuries of ice cream and chocolate.
Choose to see the blessings which surround you.
Lord, fill my heart with thanksgiving. Open my eyes that, no matter what is going on in this world, I will see Your blessings staring back at me. That those blessings which have become commonplace and insignificant to me, will once again become obvious, glorifying Your name and turning my eyes to You. Thank You Lord, for blessing me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
For more encouragement, visit Olivia at abidingwordscom.wordpress.com.
© 2021 by Olivia Barnes. All rights reserved.
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