She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.”
Genesis 4:1
After the fall of man (and woman) in Genesis 3 and the consequences that followed, we are left with questions such as:
- What happened to Adam & Eve?
- Did they forget about God as they were sent out from the garden?
- Did they have to work so hard to survive that there was no time for God?
- Were they consumed with bitterness and anger towards God– as so many are today when life brings difficult circumstances?
We are given a clue into answers to some of these questions as we read Eve’s response to the birth of her first son:
With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man. Genesis 4:1
These do not sound like angry or resentful words – but words that acknowledge God’s provision, words of gratefulness. Perhaps she is even thinking this child will be the fulfillment of the Genesis 3:15 promise.
Do you and I acknowledge God’s provision in our lives? Are we grateful for all He has given?
Psalm 16:2 reminds us, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
What “good thing” have we failed to thank God for today? In what area have we neglected to acknowledge His provision?
If God chose to take away everything we had not thanked him for – I wonder how many of us would lose a spouse or a child…would we have to walk home today? Would our house be there when we got home? Would we find our mattress or refrigerator missing? Would we have shoes, Tylenol, or peanut butter in the pantry? How about friends, Sunday School teachers, and mentors?
We need to be thankful. We need to pray that God would give our children thankful hearts. We need to model that for them.
We can practice thankfulness by redeeming our thought life – as we load the dishwasher, run errands, or fold laundry, the time can be redeemed with prayers of thankfulness.
Ask your children or grandchildren to pray thank you prayers tonight as you put them to bed.
As we cultivate a thankful heart, we simultaneously acknowledge God as the giver of all good things.
Have you thanked God today?
The woman of God gratefully acknowledges God’s provision in her life.
