I recently started reading this book called I Blame Eve by Susanna Aughtmon. I thought it seemed stupid at first, but it's been enjoyable and practical so far. A lot of people blame Eve for ruining the once perfect world, but let's be honest--someone else would've eaten the apple. No one is completely content with their lives; we always want something more than we have. This is exactly how Eve got trapped. She thought God was holding out on her, so she ate the fruit.
The chapter I'm reading right now is titled, "I Would Listen to a Talking Snake." It details Eve's encounter with Satan and how--like Eve--we are all too often persuaded by the snake's lies. All Satan has to do is plant a seed in our heads and doubt ensues. I've listened to the snake before; we all have. But how do we stop listening to his lies? So many times, I sin and then think, "I know I shouldn't have done that, but I did it anyway." I get caught in this cycle of confessing my sins, sinning, confessing, sinning, etc. The whole cycle feels hopeless and like I don't have a way out.
But the simple solution to my problem is not to even let Satan's lies enter into my head. When he tries to get me to doubt God, I should turn around and leave. Susanna puts it like this, "Run. Run back to the One who formed you with His hands. Run as fast as your little legs can carry you and start calling out to him, 'God? Are you there? It's me. I'm full of doubts and awash in untruths that the stupid snake told me! I need you to tell me again what you said. Remind me how you saved me with your grace…I need you" (pg. 34-35). I forget how easy it is to just talk to God, even when I'm in the midst of sin or in the midst of doubting His plan for my life.
If I never invite God into my struggles, how is He supposed to help me? Unless I make a conscious decision to talk to Him, His voice gets lost in the distractions of life. God is always here--whether I ask Him to be or not, but I'm not always listening to Him. I need to be more aware of God's voice in my daily life; I need to distinguish His voice from the voice of the snake.
God has an incredible plan for my life, even though I don't know what it is yet. But His plan isn't for me be perfect; that's impossible. His plan is for me to fall down and fail and to grow closer to Him through it all. I'm beginning to let go of my need for control and cling to God--the One in control of it all. I'm nervous and excited to see where life is taking me, but I know I'm not alone.
