The devil is very good at muddying the water.
The processes of the first five verses of Genesis 3 are:
• Question with possible misquotation
• Successful engagement
• Adding to His words
• Contradiction
• Undermining
Its helpful in answering ANY question to determine the reason for the asking.
Questions
can come from:
• A heart of enquiry and a desire to understand
• The desire to engage
• The desire to provoke
• The desire to challenge
…and probably more, but of that list – I’m pretty sure Satan wasn’t seeking to understand Gods words better.
“Did God really say…?” was his tactic then and its his tactic now. When we find ourselves living in contradiction to what God clearly says… Thinking this point or the other point doesn’t reeeeeally matter… He didn’t reeeeally mean that, we reshape HIM into our own image. Perhaps an image of self and our desires, but at the very least, an image that is different to His Actuality.
And a different shaped god, is not God. It is idolatry.
I have done this at varying points in my life. Some as a young person wanting to challenge. Some as an older Christian wanting to believe something different – which is still actually challenge. I pray I’ll not do it again but I don’t always trust me. The workings of my heart and mind. So I also continue to pray… Search my heart oh God and see if there is any evil way in me. And I praise Him for his promise that He will never leave me or forsake me and that He’s promised to cleanse me from ALL unrighteousness.
Does this mean we can’t ask questions of Him? Of course not. But I recon its helpful to be sure our question comes from a place of enquiry and a true desire to understand… and that we aren’t actually engaged with Satan’s question, seeking to engage, provoke, challenge and undermine.
When we engage with God for His very own answer, we truly want to know His very own answer, with no agenda of our own.
He is Good. And He alone is God.