Post by: Samantha Ho
We all ask for something in our lives that we can’t have. We may desperately want it—think we need it—maybe we think we can’t live without it. Or maybe we just think that having this one thing will make life better, or at least suck less.
I’ve been reading Look and Live by Matt Papa and during his dispelling of doubt he draws upon the most recognized story in the Bible: Adam and Eve. As we know, God gives Adam the entire freshly created garden of Eden. He even gives Adam a suitable helper—a wife. I imagine they were joyfully tending the beautiful, lush garden and watching over all the wild animals. Until, of course, a little sly serpent slides in and deceives the pair, leaving them ashamed of their disobedience to God’s command: don’t eat from that one tree…the tree of Knowledge.
That one tree. They were freely given all the fruitful trees in the entire garden, welcomed to eat from any of them, yet Adam and Eve end up focusing on just that one tree. That one tree God had said “no” to; that one tree Satan said “yes” to.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst ofthe garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman,“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. (Genesis 3:1-7 ESV)
We all have that one tree. You know, that one thing you keep asking God for? That boyfriend/girlfriend, that car, that nicer house, that one job, that one grad school acceptance, that child, that comfortable life. Yes, that one thing God is saying “no” to, but everything else keeps telling you “yes, it is good for you”. We are so easily deceived, getting stuck and focusing on the “no”. Just like Adam and Eve, who Matt says “let that poison go through their ears and into their hearts”, we believe so firmly when someone tells us that this one thing is good for us when God has already said “no”. It may be for this moment, or it may be forever, but God has said “no,” and we fall deeper into the poison the harder we fight against it.
And we often get so hung up on that little two-letter word. So much so that we forget about all the things in this world, and not in this world, God has already said “yes” to. All the “yeses” to loyal friends, good food, hipster coffee, a paying job, a comfy bed, game nights, ministries, and most importantly Christ Himself. God has said “yes” to your eternity in heaven. Adam and Eve “lived in a world of 'yes,' with one ‘no,’” and so do we.
But what if we’re sure that this one thing is good for us? It’s even Biblical. According to Matthew 7, God will supposedly give us what we ask for.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11 ESV)
What if you’re asking for a stone? What if, in your eyes it’s a delicious warm slice of soft, fluffy bread but in God’s eyes, it’s a really ugly rock? God only gives good things—things He thinks are best for you—to you. You’re coming to God, asking him for an ugly rock disguised as bread, and God says “no”. Not because He’s punishing you, or making you work for it, but because this isn’t real bread. God has bread for you. Knock. Ask for God’s bread. Real bread that tastes, smells, and feels so much better, and satisfies so much more than that hideous rock you’re asking for.
Don’t let this “no”, this “not yet”, distract you from all of “yeses” God has offered to you.
Sam is a lover of Jesus, working as a strategic planner by day, and a graphic designer by night. Running off of chocolate, Sam loves to spend her time savoring the intricacies of life with others, immersing herself in words, art, and plenty of good food. She has witnessed the strengths and weaknesses of the Asian American church, and has a heart to help build up this generation to be strong in faith and equipped with Truth and Grace. Her ultimate aim is to encourage others to love and cherish Christ even more.