Pam Padgett, member of the body of Christ
Recently I was reading the account of Eve being tempted by the serpent and how she ate of the tree God had commanded them not to eat of and gave also to Adam and he ate the fruit as well. There is much to consider in this account.
But something I had never noticed before especially stood out to me.
After eating the fruit, their eye were opened to see they were naked, so they tried to cover their nakedness by sewing together fig leaves.
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Because of their disobedience, God brought about strong judgments, even driving them out of the garden of Eden so they would not eat of the tree of life and live forever.
But God also provided clothing for them to cover their nakedness ... coats of skins.
Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
What God provided for them was much better than what they had provided for themselves (fig leaves sewn together). Leaves would dry out, become brittle and break. But skins would provide sturdy, long-lasting, and probably much more comfortable coverings.
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In everything we deal with, we can try to provide for ourselves, and it will be inferior to what God would provide for us or the way HE would lead us. When God leads us in what we do, providing what we need, it is often far better than what we come up with on our own.
Last fall when I noticed that Joan often chose to stay home rather than ride in the car we had because it was rough-riding and caused pain to her, I took the car to the mechanic to see if the shocks might need to be replaced. I was told the shocks were fine, and the only thing that might help was an alignment, which I asked them to do. Still the car ran roughly.
In checking for more comfortable tires, the ones we had on the car were the most comfortable tires I could find.
I also checked to see if air suspension could be added to the car, but the only business I could find that might do this said they weren't sure if it could be added to this particular car and, even if they could add it, they didn't seem confident that it would help with the rough-ride.
Nothing I thought to do worked. This wasn't the way to go.
Nothing I thought to do worked. This wasn't the way to go.
Then one day, I got into the car and realized that not only did the car cause pain for Joan, but I really hated driving the car for various reasons. That day I even dreaded starting the car!
I strongly turned to God and said "I really hate this car! And Joan can't ride in it comfortably. But what can we do?"
Not long after this, one afternoon Joan asked what I thought about going to look for a new car. I wasn't able to go that afternoon, but worked that evening and early the next morning to get my work done so we could go the following day. We also had time to see what cars were available with air suspension, and those were the only ones we test drove.
The car Joan decided to buy, a Mercedes S-Class, is so comfortable for her to ride in and is a joy for me to drive. I don't think there has been a time that we have been in the car in which we haven't commented on how much we like the car. This is a far better solution than trying to somehow make the Acura we had comfortable and better to drive.
Thinking about these things strengthens my desire to seek God's guidance and HIS provision in all things.
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