Eve had her time in the Garden. Now it’s your time in the Garden. Jesus came to redeem us and to restore what Adam and Eve lost there.
Paul made a statement that grabbed my attention: “But I fear that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve through his trickery, so your minds might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3). Eve was deceived. How did this happen? She had the perfect husband in the perfect Garden. She and Adam had walked in the Garden with God.
As I was meditating on this, I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit say, “She did not value the Word of God.” Satan approached Eve and questioned the Word of God. “Has God indeed said . . .?” (Genesis 3:1 NKJV). Eve responded by saying, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the garden; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You will not eat of it, nor will you touch it, or else you will die'” (Gen. 3:2b-3). We know God did not say anything about touching the tree. This was Eve’s little exaggeration as she tried to convince herself that eating the fruit was OK.
Eve had a choice to make. Her biggest problem was listening to the enemy. In the end, we can see she valued Satan’s word over God’s Word.
Proverbs 18:20 says: “A man’s stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips will he be filled.” The quality of our life is dependent to some degree on the words of our mouth. Verse 21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Words are important. God used words to create the world we live in, and we are created in His image. Our words spoken from our heart have a creative force. Romans 10:10 is a perfect example of the power of our words. “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” By the words of our mouth we became a new creation in Christ Jesus. Throughout the Word of God we can see that our words are very important.
This truth has been distorted by our adversary, just as all truths from the Word of God that God desires to plant in our heart have been distorted. Remember, this passage speaks about believing in our heart and speaking. Romans 10:8 tells us, “‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.’ This is the word of faith that we preach.”
The Word of God must become a revelation to us personally; what we believe in our heart will come out of our mouth for good or for bad.
Ephesians 6:17 tells us, “And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” When a truth becomes a revelation by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is giving us a sword that will cut asunder the thick cords of the wicked as we speak that truth, bringing deliverance with trust and confidence in the God we serve.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.” You must learn to use your sword to stop the thoughts the enemy brings to your mind to block the desires of your heart God has promised to you. That is why we must value the Word of God.
Our lifelong journey as a child of God is searching out the truths from His Word. We know that John, chapter 8, tells us the truth will set us free (v. 31). Remember, Satan has a strategy to steal, kill and destroy, and you are his chief target. You have to have a strategy to steal, kill and destroy every fiery dart he aims at your heart.
Words are powerful. They connect us to God and to each other. Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit [heart] of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Words spoken from an ungodly heart are the only thing that can crush a spirit. It is very hard to recover from a wounded heart.
Psalm 107:20 tells us, “He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.” Only the Word of God can deliver us from destruction as truth is revealed to our heart and we speak that truth from our mouth. We need to heed this warning.
You don’t have to be deceived like Eve. She was deceived in her mind because she did not value the word God had spoken regarding the tree in the Garden. This act of unbelief took her out of the Garden of life.
You are walking in the Garden of your life, but you have to learn to sow into it. Time is your most valuable asset. A little seed of the Word of God planted consistently over time will produce a beautiful harvest in your life that will bring joy, peace and righteousness in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). The Word of God brings life to those who find it (Prov. 4:20-27). God desires that you enjoy the fruit of your garden!
Let Mary be your example: “Mary said, ‘I am the servant of the Lord. May it be unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary knew the Word, she valued the Word, and we are still reaping the reward of her words.
Joyce Tilney, Founder of Women of God Ministries, teaching women today from women of yesterday. www.wogministries.com. She is the author of Why Diets Don’t Work—Food Is Not The Problem. This is not another diet plan but a battle plan. After surrendering her food addiction to the Lord, He gave her a battle plan that worked from the inside out, taking 90 pounds from her body. For more information, visit www.whydiets.com.
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