I believe all the problems in the world stem from lack of trust in God. Do you think that’s too bold a statement?
Think of it. Before sin, the Garden of Eden was beautiful—a perfect place to live. Adam and Eve were perfect for each other, they walked in perfect fellowship with God, and God provided for all their needs.
What happened to that blissful state? Lack of trust in God led to disobedience and the consequences.
They didn’t need to eat from the single tree that God had forbidden. They had plenty of others.
But the serpent (who was Satan in disguise) began to work on Eve, casting doubt in her mind. He deceived Eve and she began to think “Does God really love us? Does he really want what is best for us? Why is he holding back that tree? Is he cheating us of real happiness?” She didn’t trust God that his rule was in their best interest.
Eve eventually ate the forbidden fruit, and gave some to her husband and he also ate of it. Maybe Adam was afraid of losing her if he didn’t.
(By the way, it was not an apple. It was some other kind of fruit that probably became extinct when God expelled them from the Garden. He put a cherubim at the entrance to the Garden to keep them out after that.So that tree was no longer available to people.)
When Eve and Adam disobeyed God’s single rule, they showed their lack of trust in God. They did what they thought was best instead of obeying God. They didn’t believe he wanted what was best for them. In disobeying God and doing what Satan wanted, Adam and Eve gave to Satan the dominion of the earth which God had originally given them. This sin brought all kinds of problems to our world: all kinds of injustice, sickness, crimes, heartaches, despair, etc.. Because of one… all have sinned.
To do what we think is best, instead of obeying God, is to set ourselves up as God. That is idolatry. If we don’t trust God, we are open to the deception of the evil one. His advice of what is good for us is deception and leads to more problems.
not only the sin we do, but also neglecting to do what God commands is disobedience. We will be in either one camp or the other, God’s or Satan’s.
Ever since the Garden of Eden, God has been trying to teach humans to trust him. If we don’t trust God, who can we trust? He is the one who is perfect love. He is the only one who is holy and righteous. He is merciful and trustworthy. He is the one who has provided a way out of the trap into which sin has led us. God himself “was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself” through his death on the cross, (2Cor.5:19, RSV).
If we trust God, believing in Jesus Christ his Son, repenting of our sin, he will forgive us and rescue us from the traps of sin and give us life everlasting. Our problems may not all go away right away, but we will have a loving Father to give us strength and guidance. As we follow his guidance, things will go better for us. We also have the hope of heaven where sin will no longer be present in or around us and pain and sickness will be gone forever.
Now I’d like to hear your thoughts. In what situations or in what ways do you find it most difficult to trust God?
—Judith Vander Wege, 2017
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