Walking In The Garden

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden." - Genesis 3:8

This morning when I awoke it seemed that my life and so many things around me are in a state of confusion; a state of disarray. So I spent the next 3 hours reading in the bible, with a following time of prayer and quiet private worship with my guitar before the Lord. Questions of the Lord's will for my life and his ways unfolding before me were in the forefront of my mind. How greatly I plead before the Lord that he would unfold a path before me of joy and restoration rather than a renewed pain and uncertainty. The more I read the Word of God the more I longed to be in his presence and away from this crumbling and perishing world and its painful endeavors.

As I was reading this morning, this verse in Genesis came to my mind. In the beginning Adam walked in the garden with the Lord on a daily basis. He walked along side with the Lord! I can barely begin to fathom the deep and beautiful intimacy that Adam shared with the Lord. He walked and talked and dwelt with the LORD! Man was fulfilling his purpose; delighting in the presence of our creator, walking in the love and joy of being with our beloved.

How far this world has fallen from that very beginning. How wretched our hearts have become since that time! Even when sin entered the world Adam and Eve hid from the Lord as they heard him approaching. As I look at this world around me with the death, idolatry, perversion, brokenness, and sin accursed existence I cannot help but long for the presence of my Lord. I yearn for the restored fellowship with my creator. I yearn for an existence that is not tainted by unrighteousness and the foolishness of my own heart and ways. I plead for the continued presence of the Lord through his Holy Spirit to delight in making us holy; to delight in changing our ways and changing our hearts to prepare us to share in the everlasting and future glory of our Lord in heaven.

If there is one thing I could wish for during this life on earth; it is to walk with the Lord in the garden. To walk with my eyes, my heart, and my life captivated on the presence of my Lord. Only then will this heart finally be fulfilled. Only then will this man be drawn into the paths of certainty; the paths of security I seek. How wearied I am from continued heartache and uncertainty and how difficult to love with selfless abandon. Only by dwelling alone in the peaceful garden of prayer and fellowship with the Lord on a daily basis will I become the man God made me to be... a man after God's own heart.