Monday meditation: Choosing to concentrate on all God has given
They had it all. Every blessing, every comfort, every magnificent sight, any imaginable pleasure. Adam and Eve had it all in the Garden of Eden.
And then Satan convinced them it wasn’t enough. Listening to his whisper, they chose not to ignore the one fruit they were forbidden to taste. They were living in paradise, but they thought they needed, they thought they deserved, the one thing they’d been told to avoid.
In many ways we’re nothing like them. Our current struggle, our slog through the daily duties of caregiving is certainly no paradise. We could make a long list of circumstances we wish were different, pleasures we’ve been denied, and experiences we’d like to share again. Could we pare our lists down to one item, just one, that we think would make our lives complete?
The process might show us we’re more like Adam and Eve than we’d want to admit. We, too, have our eyes on what we cannot (or should not) have.
But even though our lives may be difficult, they’re not hopeless. Even with all we’ve lost, so much that’s good and delightful and full of pleasure still remains. Satan points us to what we lack, but God comes beside us with comfort and provision and strength for each new step.
We waste precious energy pondering what we cannot have. We slip into dangerous territory when we fail to celebrate the good that’s all around us. God knew what was best for Adam and Eve. Our challenge is to trust that he will also give us everything we need, too.
Read: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
Pray: I will thank you today for every good gift I’m receiving from your hand, O Lord. As I consider my long list of blessings, I will begin this week expecting to see how you’re providing all my needs—and so many of my wants as well. Thank you, Lord, for the abundance of your provision in my life.
Illustration Copyright Classic Bible Art. For more information and to see more art in this series, click here.