Our Perceptions of Provision and Lack
Eve
It was delicious,
she said
or she wanted to say
for that is how it looked,
the wanting for
everything and nothing,
sensuous fruit,
ripe and golden
in her hand.
* * *
It begins with a question, ‘What do you want?’
And it ends with an answer, ‘I want / I lack.
But the real answer is, ‘You want for nothing.’
Find a comfortable place to sit where you can be still. It is your mind that requires your stillness now, and doesn’t stillness sometimes feel like the most challenging thing to find? It can be difficult to be quiet, calm, and relaxed. But we aren’t chasing peace now. Rather, we are sinking into it. For peace is in you. It is at home within you. So, let’s come home. Let’s ground ourselves in the peace of Jesus within us. This moment.
Holy Spirit, we need you; I need you. Come…..
Invite in Holy Spirit. He is in us, but sometimes our thoughts crowd him out, and we forget him. This leaves us feeling on our own–and alone. So, take a deep breath: Breathe in for a count of four; hold this breath for a count of four; then breathe out for a count of four. Keep going. Don’t rush this.
Holy Spirit, come….Breathe in and hold for four counts.
I need you….Breathe out for four counts.
We are inviting our minds to settle down, to let everything go–all the thoughts and concerns of the day, the week, the year.
Jesus, I give you my thoughts now, my ideas, my list of things to do. (Pause here. Allow your heart and mind to sync as you name what you are giving to Him–-and see Him taking it all.)
Jesus, I am with you. I am present with you. You are in me. You are my heart.
Next, open your journal, and share with God your first reaction to the words posted near the top of this page:
It begins with a question, ‘What do you want?’
And it ends with an answer, ‘I want / I lack.
But the real answer is, ‘You want for nothing.’
Then, with Holy Spirit guiding you, kindly offering you wisdom and revelation, read The Message translation of Genesis 3: 1-13 (see below). Then, read it at least once more, as if it were a script from a play and you are one of the main characters in this scene: Eve. To give a boost to our imaginations, I took the liberty of modifying the text; “the Woman,” is replaced by a first-person pronoun, like “I” or “me.”
Sit with those verses for a few minutes. Allow yourself to feel the situation. Try to name the wide range of emotions, from the beginning of the scene to the last words. In the margin next to each verse–or in your journal—write down your thoughts, your response.
Father, I feel . . .
And here are my questions . . .
Finally, continue your conversation with God about (1) what you desire and (2) what you believe you lack. Sometimes we expend a lot of energy wanting things we feel we lack. We can confuse the desires God puts in our hearts–good and true–with those based on misconceptions or insecurity.
Can you name the goodness and truth God offers you versus what you feel He is withholding?
Have a conversation with God, now. Perhaps write down this conversation with Him in your journal:
Lord, what do I believe I lack?
What choices am I making that reveal this perception of lack in my life?
What am I believing, Lord, that is making me pull away from you?
Help me to return to you. Let nothing separate me from you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
A modification of Genesis 3: 1-13, The Message
1 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to me: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”
2-3 I said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”
4-5 The serpent told me, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”
6 When I saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what I would get out of it—I’d know everything!—I took and ate the fruit and then gave some to my husband, and he ate.
7 Immediately the two of us did “see what’s really going on”—saw ourselves naked! We sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for ourselves.
8 When we heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and I hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
9 God called to the Man: “Where are you?”
10 He said, “I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid.”
11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?”
12 The Man said, “The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.”
God said to me, “What is this that you’ve done?”
13 “The serpent seduced me,” I said, “and I ate.”
