DEVOTION – DAY 362

Genesis 3:21 “God’s Plan For Us Is Always Better”

Genesis 3:21 “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”

The background to this verse follows the well-known record of the fall of man. Adam and Eve had sinned greatly against God. They had rebelled against God’s instructions not to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had so many trees to choose from for food. But they ate from the one tree that God said that when they ate the fruit, they would certainly die (Genesis 2:17). They lost their innocence the moment they ate the forbidden fruit. They realized they were naked. They hurriedly covered their nakedness with some fig leaves and they hid from God. They were experiencing the immediate effects of sin – sin separated them from God. They hid from God because they had sinned. They feared God’s judgment. They tried to fix their own problems by trying to cover themselves with fig leaves.

God judged Adam and Eve in Gen.3:14-19. But God also showed His mercy. The fig leaves used by Adam and Eve were useless as clothing. So, God made garments of skin to clothe Adam and Eve. God was also showing them that an innocent animal had to be sacrificed in order that it’s skin could be used to make clothing to cover their sin. It was an early reference to what the Lord Jesus Christ would do by sacrificing His life, in order to atone for the sins of fallen men and women. We learn that instead of running away from God and trying to solve problems on our own, we need to confess, repent and always run to God. God always has a better plan for us all.

I once asked someone to serve in a ministry position. He gave me several reasons why he was not a good candidate and that I should ask other people. I asked him to pray and seek God’s will for him regarding my request. He agreed. Shortly, he lost his voice due to a throat infection. He realized that this was God’s way to silence his excuses about serving. In the end, he agreed to follow me to serve and he experienced great blessing over the many years of faithfully serving God. He realized that he was trying to solve my request using his own wisdom. But when he really began to seek God’s will in the matter, he realized that God’s plan for him was much better.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are always wise and good. Your plans for us are always for our best interests. Please help us to obey and serve you all the days of our lives. We pray this in the Holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are some past incidents where you tried to solve problems on your own making poor decisions but when you turned to God for help, His direction for you was much better? Share.
  2. Why do you try to solve problems on your own first? Discuss.
  3. What are some problems you are facing now? How are you trying to solve them? Have you turned to God yet for help? Share.