Scripture: Genesis 2:15-25 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Devotion: I recently had a friend take some time off because she was feeling tired and overwhelmed. What did she want to do with her day? She wanted to touch dirt, smell flowers, and drink her coffee outside. And after one day doing that, she felt at peace. She felt reconnected to her Creator. She felt calm.
In a similar way, I experienced this sort of peace recently. I was pushing my kids on the swing set in our backyard, and I hadn’t grabbed any shoes. It was the first time I had walked barefoot in the grass since sometime last summer. It brought me back to my childhood and running around barefoot all of the time. Something about that feeling grounds me, brings me peace, and calms me down.
Can you imagine how Adam and Eve must have felt in the Garden of Eden? Surrounded by trees, plants, flowers, and animals of all kinds. Knowing that I have only seen a glimpse of the amazing things that our God has created, I know that this garden had to have been absolutely breathtaking. With sin not separating them from God yet, they lived in unbroken communion with Him and walked in the cool of the garden. I can only imagine the type of peace that they experienced in His presence.
There is incredible peace found in the presence of God. Whether encountering Him through His creation, through His Word, or through time in prayer, we can feel overwhelmed by His peace. So, if you are feeling a bit unsettled, think about what helps you to feel the presence of God. One of the easiest ways for me is to get outside in nature and take a walk. When I feel the sun on my skin, hear the birds chirping, and see the flowers blooming, all while I am talking with Him in prayer, I always feel renewed. What is it for you where you can sense His presence?
Because when you feel His presence, you will feel His peace. So do something today that shifts your perspective, to be attuned to the presence of God, and bask in the peace of His presence.
Reflect:
- When do you feel God’s presence most obviously? How can you consistently recognize His presence and feel His peace?
