The story of Eve has always caught my attention. She has been blamed since time began. It has been encouraging to revisit her journey carefully. We all have sinned and fallen short, haven’t we? So I conclude her story with these two verses.
“Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man … Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, ‘God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.’” (Genesis 4:1, 25)
There are moments for all of us when we know we cannot turn the clock back, we cannot undo the past, and all that greets us in the morning is regret. At these times, it takes courage to believe again.
It takes courage to acknowledge that God is in your pain.
She gave birth. What did that mean? She experienced what she had never experienced – pain. She had never witnessed it in anyone, nor had she felt it herself. But she knew God, who had forewarned her of such pain (3:16), was with her “With the help of the Lord…”
It takes courage to know God is in control.
It takes courage to believe that the pain will enlarge you, stretch you so that you receive what He has for you. The promise will not pull you; the pain will.
It takes courage to believe you can still accomplish great things. “I have brought forth,” whatever you are facing, don’t listen to those who say you cannot do it; you can, with God.
It takes courage to move on.
If you are willing to go again, God will always be there for you.
To see your family divided is hurtful enough. To witness a murderous death within your family by a family member is a nightmare. To realize it was done through deception, which was your own previous failing, and your sin is now passed to the next generation, is unbearable.
What did Eve do? She again gave birth. She began again. She moved on.
Success is getting up one more time than the number of times you fall.
The future is not in what you have lost. Seth’s name meant substitute. Eve lost Abel. But it was in Seth that the bloodline would be traced to the birth of Jesus Christ, God’s substitute for our sin.
The past will always be the same. Please stop trying to change it. Start believing the best is yet to be. It takes courage to move on.
Missions Paul 