Why hide among the trees?
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." (NIV) Genesis 3:8
One area of struggle among humanity is our attempt to cover up when sin or mischief has occurred. Sometimes this leads to a cascade of wrongdoings with troubling consequences. From our private lives to the public place, the growing years to adulthood, emptiness to rich abundance, ordinariness to a hall of fame, etc., are some of the transitions that register the various subtle cover-ups in this life.
In the beginning, God gave man so much to enjoy, both physically and spiritually- constant time with God, the blessing of man’s dominion over the created things, the power of naming all animal life and even more. However, God gave a clear indication of how things had to run (Genesis 2).
Nothing can be without God and His word (John 15:5b, Hebrews 1:3). Thus, God culminated His blessings to man by adding his ever-living word to man’s very existence (Psalm 119:89). Adam was to enjoy the given blessings alongside God’s command. In a matter of time, however, man disobeyed God and the first solution Adam and Eve sought was to hide among the trees in the Garden (Genesis 3:8b).
In our time, we have, in several ways, become like Adam (Romans 3:12), by “hiding among the trees” -i.e. running from God, spiritual lukewarmness, being men-pleasers, poor prayer life, materialism, unforgiveness, calling lies as truth, self-seeking lifestyle, preying the weak, envy, lack of contentment, and more. While in these “hiding places among the trees”, there is still hope to get things right. And God never gives up on us, He pursues us with His loving and pruning hands, to get us back on track. God’s pruning is not limited by our sinful hideouts, for He is Omnipresent. And we can be who we are made to be if only we do not resist the corrections of the Lord.
May we boldly come to God when we fall or falter for the needed shelter. He can and will help us rise (sometimes with the needed pruning) again (Romans 14:4b). Be renewed, bear fruits and stay blessed.