God’s Asking ‘Where Are You?’

Inspiration MinistriesBy Inspiration Ministries4 Minutes

When God created the earth, He didn’t seek advice from the angels or call a committee to take a vote. He simply spoke, and His Words were so full of life, so powerful, so undeniable that everything came into being immediately.

There was never a question of God’s authority or His ability to create the heavens and the earth, but the very first question that was asked in the Bible came as Satan planted seeds of doubt about the integrity of God’s Word:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

Satan’s initial question didn’t really directly call God a liar, but that was soon to follow:

And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’”

And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-3).

Note that the devil didn’t seem to make a major revision to God’s warning about the forbidden fruit—he just rearranged the word “not”! God had said, “You shall ‘not’ eat . . . or you shall surely die.” The devil said, “You shall eat . . . and you surely shall ‘not’ die.”

Small Change, Big Difference

How could such a small revision make such a big difference? One version was truth—the other was a lie! The nearest cemetery is a silent witness as to who was telling the truth! The disobedience of Adam and Eve brought spiritual and physical death to the human race—just as God had warned!

The second question that appears in the Bible is one that has been repeated again and again . . . “Where are you?” This is a question God asked Adam in Genesis 3:9 when Adam was hiding in the bushes—even though God knew exactly where Adam was hiding—and it’s a question the Lord continues to ask you today.

Make no mistake about it: God knows exactly where you are! He wasn’t looking for a missing person when He asked Adam and Eve where they were hiding—He wanted them to understand the full ramifications of what they had done. God wanted them to experience the painful realization that they were now alienated from Him.

Just as He asked Adam and Eve, the Lord is asking you today, “Where are you?” How are you going to answer Him? Are you walking right beside Him or are you hiding somewhere behind the “bushes” of denial and blame-shifting?

A Message of Hope

The Choice Is Yours