Running barefoot through soft, green grass was a quintessential part of my childhood summers. But when I moved to a desert climate as an adult, I learned that maintaining an inviting yard required a sprinkler system and a green thumb. Having neither, I struggled each summer to keep our landscape from turning dry and brown like the hills that surrounded us.
My battle with the vegetation each year is a consistent reminder that we are not living in the garden of Eden. Images of the Pacific Northwest, with their misty lakes and dense forests, may seem a little closer to that lush paradise on earth. But in our present state, when we dig beneath the surface, no place, person, or thing is truly perfect or whole anymore.
I’m guessing most of us feel far from Eden. Whether it’s problems in our personal lives, the health of a family member, or devastation abroad, there is no shortage of brokenness here and now. But when we look back to the very beginning of creation, we learn that this suffering is not what God desired for His masterpiece.
We all know the story. When God made the earth, He “planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he placed the man he had formed” (Genesis 2:8). But we often miss the best part of the garden! It’s not the fertile ground or the naming of the animals but the fact that God Himself walked among His people, in communion with them. God’s original intention was for men and women to live and serve in His presence.
When Adam and Eve chose to sin by disobeying God, choosing their own way over His, the greatest consequence wasn’t pain in childbirth or a lackluster harvest but separation from God’s presence. And that separation was banishment from Eden, death to the soul, and ultimately death to the body. When God first created the world there was no mention of death or destruction. It was only after humanity chose the way of sin that brokenness entered the scene.
God could have left it at that. Handing Adam, Eve, and every generation to follow, over to the downfall of our own decisions. But that is not who God is. God is merciful. God is love. And so God sent His own perfect Son to be the man Adam could not. To live a righteous life, never choosing sin like we do. To be the spotless Lamb, sacrificed to atone for our damage. It was the greatest act of undeserved forgiveness:
God’s giving Himself over to death to save the ones who’d betrayed Him.
God paid the price for our sin because He longs for complete connection with us once again, to walk in the garden with His creation. I cannot begin to fathom how deep His love is for us. But what I do know is that because of Jesus’s sacrifice we are welcomed back into the presence of God. Even in a land east of Eden, we can live and serve with God through His Holy Spirit. And for all who trust in Him, we will walk with our God in paradise again.
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68 thoughts on "Life with God in the Garden"
I had never thought about being removed from Gods presence as the ultimate fall but wow. So eye opening.
Adam could hear the sound of God walking in his midst. It’s crazy to think that even though we can’t hear his footsteps- because the Holy Spirit is in us, he is walking with us each day. Each day of this study I have been reminded of how God’s presence is so tangible. I am the one that makes him feel far away. He is not.
The idea that from the beginning God’s intention was to commune with us just like we commune with people. In the beginning he would walk in the garden.. that fills my heart with joy and expectation that the desire to be in His presence is exactly part of His plan.
Amen
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This site was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found
something that helped me. Appreciate it!
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Beautiful reminder to focus on God’s presence not beautiful garden He created
Thank you for your resurrection, Lord! Thank you for this underserving grace and mercy you have for those who have believed in you. For let us not forget all you have done – keep our eyes focused on you, dwelling in your presence. For this life is temporary, we will be with you for eternity.
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I don’t want hold back any part of my life from him, hide it in the trees or blame someone else. I want to give over everything for communion with God. Help me Lord to come to you in guilt or in anger, in peace
The garden is only as good as the presence of God there! Which also means that now anywhere with his presence could be our garden – and that is all thanks to Jesus. Lord, let me not stop marveling at your grace and love!
@Taylor Graves I’m so sorry for the loss of your daughter. I will be praying that the Lord fills you with His comfort and peace.
Good evening ladies! I hope some of you were able to see the eclipse and marvel in God’s creation!! May I ask for prayer ? My stomach has not been right since I got a stomach bug at the end of January and I’m exhausted from being kept up with stomach pains. Please pray for healing ! I will hopefully see a GI doctor soon
I encourage you to get checked for Lyme disease. I was diagnosed with it recently and stomach pain is a symptom.
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Cain is worried about “whomever finds me will kill me”. Is he worried about future brothers or sisters as right now it is just him and his parents.
But God puts a mark on him so that no one will kill him. If all it takes is a mark from God, why is it limited to Cain?
In verse 17, following our selected reading, refers to Cain and his wife. Where did his wife come from? Did God create more than just Adam and Eve?
On Ash Wednesday we remember from ‘dust to dust’ Does that include us or just Adam? Adam isn’t alive until God breathes into his nostrils. How are we so like Adam, yet so different by current cultural standards?
There were many wonderful comments and insights shared today. Thank you for all who shared.
I loved reading the part about Cain
I loved that Katie said “this suffering is not what God desired for His masterpiece” in the devotional today. After I lost my daughter I just couldn’t fathom why God would do such a thing. Why did He take her away from me and put me into such a terrible place? But after digging a little deeper into the readings today I can see that God never wanted me to have to feel this pain. He never wanted me to have to know such grief and loss. When God created us He wanted us to walk among Him in the garden and be blissfully ignorant so that we wouldn’t have to ever know the dreadful things that this world can hold, such as death. I still don’t know why God decided that He needed my daughter, and I never will until I meet Him in Heaven. But, I find comfort in the knowledge now that God is not a mean God and I am blessed that because He loves me, He is using this terrible tragedy to bring me closer to Him so that one day I may be with Him and my daughter again.
Michelle Patire, I hear you! Some mornings I actually say to God, I can’t imagine what a day for you is like, so overwhelming to comprehend! I also add that I hope the praise going up is greater.
Amen
Reading the Genesis scriptures is so timely for me right now. We are getting ready for a huge landscape overhaul in our back yard. I have been frustrated with trying this and that, to get things to grow and flourish in beautiful but arid Colorado. I love taking care of the yard and look forward to a fresh start with new trees, shrubs, and flowers. I never enjoyed gardening as a kid but now I find it so rewarding. I know God made us to work the soil and nurture things to grow. I love caring for my two dogs and spending time with them. My husband enjoys the same activities, so I am truly blessed. Thank you God for filling our joyful hearts with your beautiful creation. ❤️
@AMANDA NOBLE: i am lifting you up in prayers today. I was on my knees and I could not utter words for my heart was so heavy. BUT please know, nothing is in vain. “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). If there’s one man in your family that sinned, and allowed sin, that causes death, destruction to spread in your life, know that another man, Jesus, shall help you out. My grandpa also opened many doors to his family, to my grandma and the seven children, and the stigma lived on, BUT I was blessed to be the first in my family and generations to know God, and in my fast, I cancelled the generational sins and consequences. I declared all debts is paid for by my Lord’s blood, and I will suffer no more. I pray the same for you dear sister.
I have an idea. Is there a way we can set up a go fund me for AMANDA? I am in Canada and I don’t know how that might work. I would love if any of you dear shes have done this before in your line of ministry work to help organize perhaps? And we all can join in and help her out, with our 5 loaves and 2 fishes (with our lunch money) like that little boy who stepped up and offered to Jesus his humble lunch and the Lord fed the 5,000. God can multiply. What do you think dear she’s? I would love it if we can do this to help AMANDA out.
Be blessed dear sisters.
@Mercy. I think your idea is spot on. I also don’t know how to put it together but I would also love to help.
Don’t I do the same thing? I can be so ungrateful for all God has done for me and want more. Just like Adam and Eve. God, please remind me again, and again that you are all I need. Thank you for sending your son, the Last Adam, to take away my sins, and to make me right with you.
We went to the ark encounter and creation museum over the weekend. It was about 1300 miles round-trip. We live in northeastern Pennsylvania. We were celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary. Both of the places were incredible. To think that Noah was brave enough to listen to the Lord is just wow. The creation museum to me was incredible. To see all of God‘s handiwork, and how we have ruined time and time again, but he still loves us, and wants a relationship with us like he had initially with Adam and Eve in the garden. I need to remember over and over again that God loves me and someday we will be with him in that paradise. The New Jerusalem.
I am keeping all of your requests in prayer. Our God is so awesome, and I know we have difficulties. Not one of us can say we haven’t, and maybe we do right now. Isn’t it wonderful that we can bring our needs, or wants, our desires before the Lord? How about the fact that we can bring the wants, needs, desires of our sisters in Christ before the Lord and he hears even those? It’s funny, I was reading through the end of section one because I had been out of town and was catching up today and Psalm 139 came to mind, especially verse 6. The NLT version reads, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” Isn’t that the truth! Thank you Heavenly Father, for knowing me; knowing my needs, wants, and desires before I even do.
Blessings to each of you, Dear Sisters!
Thank You for your mercy and grace, Lord! ❤️
Wow this days reading was so eye opening and this part of scripture gets me Everytime I read it over and over is the part where Cains conversation with the Lord and God still chooses to mark him so he is not killed!! He could have let him go out and be killed for what he did. But he chose a different tone a more loving and compassionate one even after he then leaves his presence . We all have to live with our consequences but we can turn and still seek forgiveness and mercy. Idk but today’s reading was Soo good
@ Darlene I love that you mentioned God’s compassion in the Cain and Abel story. When I first read it, I thought “Wow, God made Cain’s consequences even worse because he has to hide from God and wander alone.” But after reading your comment I can see that God wasn’t trying to be malicious to Cain. Instead, He was showing him mercy! God could have let much worse things happen, but He didn’t. Because even after Cain sinned, He still had compassion, like you said.
@Michelle Patire – love your comments today. So true. Happy Monday ladies! Praying it’s a great week for everybody.
It’s crazy to think God forsaw all the brokenness in this world, all the good, the bad, and the really bad… yet He still chose to breathe life into man.
Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me… and it won’t make sense until I see Him face-to-face. There is just so much evil a perfect God witnesses day after day. Our eyes only see a tiny, itty bitty portion. Our hearts grieve at the smallest bit of evil. Yet, God is Holy and sees it all. Knew it all before it happened. Still allows life to exist until the day of judgement.
God’s ways are too high to comprehend.
Just some real thoughts, this morning.
Praying blessings over you ladies in the name of Jesus. ❤️
Yes Michelle! Thank you for sharing!
JULIA C – You said it so well!
Can you imagine living in the Garden of Eden?! In God’s presence! How amazing that would have been. But sin…it enters and destroys. Just as it destroys today. Genesis 6:6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. This verse makes me sad. None of us wants to feel like we are a disappointment. But our wonderful God is forgiving. He gives us Jesus to take our sins away.
@ Traci I agree! I don’t want to disappoint God. I want to uplift Him and praise Him. Much like I want to make my parents proud, I want to make God proud of me too. That’s why, although I’m still a work in progress, I am trying to make my decisions for God and not for myself.
I’m thankful for God’s provision of Salvation through Christ in order to restore our privilege to walk with Him daily! Wow! I know I take this for granted! There are a lot of things that I’m realizing that I take for granted since I have had my shoulder surgery. Getting to sleep in my bed every night, instead of a recliner. I miss the closeness with my husband. The Lord had reminded me to be thankful I have a safe place to sleep. There are a lot of homeless people who would gladly trade places with me! Limited movement- the Lord reminds me at least I have movement. There are many who long to be able to move like me. God has been teaching me through this to be grateful for what I have!
Really this is how all sin starts, longing for something more and not being content with what we have. I needed these lessons and I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! God is good and patient!
Cheryl Blow, I can relate. After I had my leg surgery to have cancer removed, I realized all the things that I had before that I hadn’t been grateful for. I also realized things like still having a leg or being able to walk even if it was with crutches, were all things to be grateful for in the present. Sometimes we need those reminders don’t we? Blessings to you today! I hope your shoulder gets better by the day!
“You are free to eat from any tree of the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil…” (Genesis 2:16) Here Adam was in this beautiful, lovely garden – a paradise on earth, probably filled with all kinds of trees that were loaded with all kinds of fruits. But there was that one tree that God said not to eat of. And what does he do? He eats of it. Why is it when God has blessed us with SO much, that we always seem to want more?…”I know you gave me all this God, but I just want this one more thing.” I know I’m guilty of it and I think it’s pretty safe to say that most of us here are too. My desire is to be content, fully satisfied with what God has given me. It doesn’t come easy, but I know that is where my heart needs to be and will be most happy. Lord, help me to be content in You. In Your presence and with all you have given me. You are all I need. Thank you Father – Wonderful, Merciful Savior – precious Redeemer and Friend.
@Mari V – praying for your daughter Alyssa.
@Amanda Noble – continued prayers for you dear sister.
@Rhonda J. – continued prayers for you & your hubby.
@Dee Dee, @Tina, @Traci G and all the moms here who have lost a child, or a baby or a baby in the womb – prayers that God will heal your broken hearts and hold you close in His arms.
Have a blessed & happy – Solar Eclipse day 2024 – another astounding work of our awesome God!
Yes, these verses and comments spoke to me, too. Especially the part about being the helper. I can sometimes get tired of helping if I am honest. But God, gives me/us strength for each day as we need it and ask Him for it. He is faithful and I just need to remember that and go to Him. Thinking of the many sisters who have lost children for many reasons and at different ages in their life. A book that really helped me when my son died was Summerland: A Story about Death and Hope. It is by Eyvind Skeie and published by Brethren Press. It was written in the 1989 I think, by a pastor, in response to the death of his friend’s daughter as a result of a sledding accident, in Norway. It was read over the radio, it’s a short story, on Easter Sunday and there was such an outpouring of support that they published it. The father of the little girl that died was an illustrator and he did the pen and ink drawings for the book. It is still available, my daughter just ordered one for me to give to a friend. It has helped me over the years and I wish I could give one to each of you!
Praying for you especially Amanda and Mia Faith that you each sense His peace in ever present ways, Good to see you Julia C and remembering to pray for our prodigals! I know my parents prayed for me! Love you all and appreciate the wisdom and comments shared here, God bless your Monday!
BECKIE: I’ve heard that before, too! Very powerful. We are meant to work, be productive, contribute to society, participate in the care of God’s creation. Some people think working is a curse, but it’s a privilege, something we can teach young people today.
@ Kris I love what you said. It reminds me of Proverbs 16:27 which states, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece” (TLB)
Our verses today bring this song to mind… How deep the Father’s love for us by Selah…here’s the first verse…
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure.
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns His face away.
As wounds which mar the chosen one, bring many sins to Glory.
Happy Eclipse Day sister She’s!
Meme Faye I love that song!
Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
*may we always remember that it is Your breath in our lungs. Help us to participate with Life and not death. Amen.
Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.
*such a GOOD reminder!!! Thank You Lord for this!!
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.
*one man’s selfishness brought sin & death into the world and another Man: Jesus, God’s Son, CONQUERED sin & death and brought in Life, Light, Restoration and Hope!!! How COOL is that?!! Our God is SO AWESOME!!!!
Living WITH God in the Garden. A daily relationship with daily conversations, daily work and daily presence…. until…sin enters. I was just settling in to the the beauty of what it looked like in the beginning to live with God when sin comes and destroys the harmony between us and our Heavenly Father. Sigh. This is us. We use our free will to wander, take advantage of others and in general create chaos in selfish attempts to pursue praise, recognition or just to be our own god. That God still chases after us and wants our relationship with him to be healed and restored is truly a miracle! Thanks be to God for the redeeming power of Jesus! I am so grateful! I love Him so much!❤️
Amen❤️
God intended for us to live among Him and commune with Him. Wow! I never realized this in this way before.
When Adam chose sin, He chose separation from God which allowed for brokenness and death to enter the world. Man chose this, not God. Apart from God we have no good thing. Psalms 16:2
This devotional was eye opening for me this morning.
Have a blessed day, fellow Shes!
We will walk with Him physically again and that is just the most amazing, wonderful thought!!! I’m so grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice redeeming us and buying us back to our Father! We can know Him and be known by Him! Hallelujah!!!
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Yes! Thank you Laura Diane for pointing that out to me! My husband just shared this as we were trying to sort through our last argument…he just was wanting my help rather than my sarcasm and criticism..I have that proudness too. Thank you..Lord forgive me. Help me to be a helper rather than a hindrance to my spouse. I need to keep working on myself and in turn things will be better, if not, I am better.
So many truths in these passages. My mind is swirling. The big one for me this morning: God made Eve Adam’s helper. I have read this so many times, but this morning it pierces my heart. Sometimes I get annoyed that my husband can’t seem to do anything without me helping him. I know, I can hear my own whining and complaining from here. But true confession here…Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t even appreciate how much I support him and help him. And then this morning – wham – across the head. I was created for this. God intended me to be a helper. And I need to see that as a privilege and honor. Feeling convicted this morning to be a more cheerful helper as God created me and intended me to be. Forgive me Lord, for my proud heart.
AMANDA NOBLE You are and have walked some very dark valleys. Praying that you will feel God’s presence so deeply, so intimately, and that you are comforted. My darkest valley brought me the deepest sense of God’s presence. During that time I truly understood what it meant to walk with God in the garden as Adam and Eve had once done. But I reached for Him. I spent time in prayer with Him. I was quiet and silent before Him. Reach out to Him and cry out to Him. He is faithful and will walk with you and carry you through this dark valley. Prayers and love to you, dear sister.
@ Laura Dianne I couldn’t agree more! I find myself complaining about my husband needing my help all the time. I say things like “Why can’t you do this without me?” But after today’s readings and seeing your comment it’s like I’ve just been smacked in the face with the truth. I never thought about it until now, but yes, God made me to do this. He made me to help my husband. I shouldn’t be upset about it, but I should be honored to continue doing what God created me to do. I love your comment!
The story of creation always seems so far removed from today when I read it. It’s hard to comprehend. I remember just talking with my grandma back in the day, she would be amazed at how the world had changed over her span of life! I guess the turn of the 1000’s to the 2000’s had to be extraordinary to her after growing up with no cars, tending to gardens for food, and working her bone to make it through the hard of life. Today we are so much more about easy, convenience, the deserving of much. So when I can look back just a bit, it can shake me into the ease of my life today. It’s easy to put God out of our minds and get caught up in our busy lives…but, I am glad for the “afflictions” that came to make me stop, and realize that it’s not about me and my circumstances, it’s about our Lord, our God creator, our inner most longings for fellowship with him. Here we search for things that make us happy and in the right spot of a cozy life, but it is not cozy at all really, and I’m glad I know I can never achieve a perfect, cozy, free of conflict and trials, earth shattering sadnesses, and disarray and fear-But God, thankfully when we live in his presence we can face all giants and battles. We can fight with a power behind and beside and before us. He goes with us hand and hand in this life. I am so thankful I found this truth and can trust in it today. Thank you Lord, all Glory to you.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. God never intended for us to know evil. So often we hear, “How could a loving God allow……” our broken world is a result of our free will. And we still have that choice today. To choose to walk with God or not. So many choose not to. May it never be because I have not shared the gospel message with them. God wants so much fore for us!!!
How amazing it is to have The Holy Spirit with us now, but I sure cannot wait to be in Heaven with Jesus and our Creator, the Trinity, whole once more, as God intended.
“God paid the price for our sin because He longs for complete connection with us once again, to walk in the garden with His creation… But what I do know is that because of Jesus’s sacrifice we are welcomed back into the presence of God.” I had to read this paragraph of today’s devotional a couple of times because, while I have read this message before, it never truly sank in. God grieved when A&E sinned at the garden and caused to separate from Him, and He loves us so much, that He paid the ultimate price to bring us back in His presence. This is a kind of love that is so big and deep that it is hard to wrap my head around. But I am so grateful God loves us so much that he went through that plan for redemption through Jesus. And now we wait for His return. And I cannot wait. Come, Lord Jesus.
Thank You, Jesus, the Second Adam! Thanks to Your perfect sacrifice we who are “offenders are restored to the kind of peace with our Creator that assures us that we will do one better than Adam and Eve. We will not walk with God in the garden in the cool of the day. We will sit at His banquet table as His beloved bride in His kingdom forever (Revelation 19:6–9)” (From HRT today).
AMANDA NOBLE – thank you for sharing your story with us. I join with the others here whose heart breaks at all that you have suffered. Praying you the Lord strengthens you and brings the needed finances and peace to your mind. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18).
MARI V – praying for Alyssa.
MADELEINE – continued prayers for your baby boy
KATIE MEGEE – praying for you to be strengthened
BECKIE DOTSON – may the Lord lighten your burdens
FOSTER MAMA – continued prayers for your goddaugher’s family situation
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BECKIE DOTSON – loved your comment! As humans we have a tendency to focus so much on ourselves that we forget to look around and give thanks for ALL God’s creation – he made it for us! I find it easy to marvel at the beauty of nature and praise God for the stunning landscapes around me. But he deserves just as much praise for everything else – the fruit trees, the water cycle, the pollinators- it all works together in such beautiful harmony. Sometimes I worry that humans aren’t adding to the music.
Eve and Adam turning their backs on God – breaks my heart every time. She says to the serpent “God has said …” and then goes against His words. I have page after page of His words in my hands, and it breaks my heart when I think of the countless times I have gone against His words and Him. Thankful for the mercy, grace and forgiveness He provides – it all comes back to Jesus. Hallelujah! Mercy Me’s song Then Christ Came is running through my mind this morning.
AMANDA NOBLE – continuing to pray for guidance, wisdom and provision
CEE GEE ❤️
@ Searching I know that I am not perfect and I have gone against God’s word so many times but as you said, I am so grateful that He is merciful and forgives me despite my imperfections.
Father how I long for Eden. Holy Spirit fill me again. Thank Uou for Your Blood and the gifts of Grace and Mercy Lord Jesus! Amen
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Dear Father,
You created a perfect home for Adam to live in. You provided Adam with a helper. And most importantly: You were Present, walking with them.
But Adam and Eve preferred their ways over Yours, not realizing that the greatest consequence of their disobedience would be separation from Your presence.
You could have left it at that, leaving us in the mess of our decision-making.
AND YET.
You send us another helper. You came down to this earth and walked with us. You gave Yourself over to death to save the ones who’d betrayed You. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice we are welcomed back into Your presence.
I pray that we may fully grasp Your mercy and Your love so that it can shape our decisions and actions.
May we never forget that in Your presence we belong.
AMEN.
Amen
So powerful!!
Being in God’s presence like that must have been awesome. What struck me as I read the Genesis 2 part, Adam was to work the ground. It wasn’t a consequence of disobedience but something that God required of him before it went wrong. Not only were we created to be in relationship but to also work to look after what God created. Powerful.
Indeed. ❤️