Eve had it all, but she started thinking about the one thing she didn’t have. She gave into temptation and reached for what she lacked. In doing so, she let go of all that she was blessed with.
Eve had the entire Garden of Even – a paradise of pure joy, love, happiness, and a relationship with God. But then one day, she allowed satan to change her focus. She gave satan a moment of her time and allowed him to redirect her thoughts.
[Enter Doubt]
Eve started wondering why she couldn’t have the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil…the one thing she didn’t have. Why would God keep this thing from her? She had not done anything to deserve this. God wasn’t being fair! And here she had thought God was good. Now she doubted that.
[Enter Sin]
The Garden meant nothing without the one thing she didn’t have. Nothing. If she didn’t have that one thing, her life wasn’t complete. So she went for it. She didn’t even give the Garden a second glance as she reached for the thing she thought she needed to make her life better.
That’s So Us!
Isn’t that what we do? When we do not have the thing that everyone else around us seems to have?
- that relationship
- that job
- that family
- that house
- that healing
- that opportunity
- that miracle
Satan personalizes his approach
Just like Eve in the Garden, Satan is more than happy to direct your attention away from the Garden and God’s goodness and toward the thing you think you lack. He will write, direct, and produce a movie just for you entitled God’s Goodness is Questionable. Seek Your Own Happiness. And he will show it to you every day and night if you will attend the viewing.
In this movie, he will showcase:
- What you are LACKING
- How life would be so much BETTER with it
- IF God was good, He would let you have this
- How you need to go after what God is keeping from you
We allow satan to plant doubts in our thoughts when we focus on what we cannot or do not have. We start to question God and His goodness. Then all of the blessings God has given us start to seem like nothing in comparison to the thing we don’t have. Our life sucks.
This path can lead us into sin.
So What DO We Do About It?
We have to make a choice every single day to focus our thoughts on the countless things God has given us…those many blessings that we take for granted every day. Sure there may be something in someone else’s life that we wish we had. But I can guarantee that if you look at that person’s life as a whole, there is something that you would not want for yourself. The grass is not always greener, which Eve discovered as well.
Control Our Thoughts
We have to stop allowing any and every thought to walk in and set up house in our mind. We have to control our thoughts and align them with God’s thoughts. Our thoughts can either support us or destroy us.
God is Good Even When Life Isn’t
God is always good. Even when we don’t have everything we want in life. Even when things are bad.
God’s ways are not our ways. He is the Creator, and we are the creation. He is holy. We are not. He is omniscient, and our knowledge and understanding is very limited. We have to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He has our best interests at heart. Because He does!!
I had to learn to redirect my thoughts
I have been going through a terribly tough season in my life for quite some time. For a long time, it was difficult not to look around and wonder why God wasn’t doing something. Why was He allowing me to go through this? Me. The girl who studies His Word regularly. Why had He chosen to keep from me this good thing that I had so desperately prayed for?
I still do not know the answer to that question. But what I do know is that I have blessings abundant in my life now and in years past. God has been good to me. I love Him with all of my heart, and I cannot imagine life without Him.
Satan’s attempt to place doubt in my mind will not work because I CHOOSE to focus my thoughts on God’s overwhelming goodness in my life. That thing I want may not be in God’s plan for me right now. Doubt will sometimes sneak in, and I have to purposefully get it out of my mind right then. I recognize it as an attack from satan and refocus my thoughts on God and His love for me.
Don’t Entertain Satan
If we don’t study God’s Word and talk with Him, we don’t stand a chance against satan. Our armor will be weak, and satan will have an easy way in. That’s when he will get all up in our thoughts and start asking why hasn’t God given us that thing yet. Along comes doubt. Then comes sin. Then we may ultimately lose our Garden of Eden.
Don’t let that happen. Kick satan out of your thought life. Remember God’s goodness, and thank Him for all that He has done for you!
Let me hear from you!
What blessings do you tend to overlook?
What strategies do you use to shift your focus from desire to gratitude?
it does take intention for sure, and the more you practice, the better you get at it! My strategy is turning off all the noise, literally, and go to the garden. But lately I have not been able to be in the garden so I’ve had to just put in ear buds with praise music to have a time of peace. Change the channel on the noise!