I Didn't Understand Why

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 Posted: 8:03:16AM HKT

Genesis 3:11-13 NIV

And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

The man said, "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"

The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. It was a commandment... actually the first commandment. He didn't sit them down and give them a long, detailed explanation of why He had given the commandment. He just told them not to do it. Period. Case closed. So Adam and Eve began to speculate. Why didn't God want them to eat that fruit? It looked good... delicious, in fact. Never mind that there were hundreds of other trees with fruit that was just as delectable on them. Adam and Eve kept coming back to that one tree. the one that had the fruit they weren't supposed to eat. With the serpent's help, they came up with an answer. The answer seemed logical. And it made God out to be the bad guy - to be a selfish, mean God who just wanted to keep them wallowing in ignorance. So they dove into sin with gusto, doing what God told them not to do.

As time went on, God gave more and more commandments, telling people exactly how He wanted them to act, what He wanted them to do and not to do. But He never explained why. So one person after another has dived headlong into sin, thinking he or she has figured out the real reason God gave the commandment. and figuring that God just doesn't know what He's talking about. Today, you and I do the same thing every day, trying to out-guess God and always coming up with the wrong answer. Where does it get us? Into more and more trouble. And it takes us an incredibly long time to learn our lessons - to understand the things God is trying to teach us. Because we, like Adam and Eve, figure that there's no way God could really love us. If He loved us, He wouldn't be so selfish. If He really loved us, He'd let us do what we wanted to do.

God has a reason for everything He tells us to do. and not to do. Everything. And most of the time, we don't understand why. In fact, our human logic will invariably tell us that God doesn't know what He's talking about. that if He was really paying attention to our lives, He wouldn't put the restrictions on us that He does.

When you start thinking that way, just remember. it's not your responsibility to know why God wants you to do something or to avoid doing something. It's only your responsibility to do it or not do it. Leave the "why's" to God. When it's time. His time. He might just tell you why.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 NIV

Used with Permission

By Bonnie Ricks