January 3, 2023
Big Idea
We can trust God when we don't know how things will turn out.
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
4
These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.
5 When no bush of the field 1 2:5 Or open country was yet in the land 2 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6 and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist 3 2:6 Or spring was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat 4 2:17 Or when you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for 5 2:18 Or corresponding to; also verse 20 him.” 19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed 6 2:19 Or And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam 7 2:20 Or the man there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made 8 2:22 Hebrew built into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
9
2:23
The Hebrew words for woman (ishshah) and man (ish) sound alike
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Over the last few years, I have had the honor of officiating weddings, with many more on the radar. I never imagined this being part of God's plan for my life because of my same-sex attraction struggle. Consequently, I have never been married. Over the last nine years, God has revealed His purpose for my life, a purpose that supplants my previous grappling. My past does not define me. I am ever grateful for His daily grace and mercy.
Genesis 2:18 says, "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'" God created the animals and man in a paradise with a bounty to eat. And then God in His goodness did not want His perfect creation, man, to be alone. Nothing in creation at that point was man's match.
In every wedding ceremony, I quote Genesis 2:23: "Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'"
The intention of God from the beginning was for man and wife to be one and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, the disobedience of Adam and Eve led to the introduction of sin into the world. And borne out of that sin was same-sex attraction, which leads to a lifetime of loneliness. Thankfully, God's provision had a rescue plan from the beginning. Pursuing my heart for years, He revealed to me that I was not alone. "[E]ven as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:4-6)
It is a sobering and powerful thought that God chose me before He EVER created the world. The God of the universe chose me! And the God of the universe chose you!
This month's memory verse
We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
1. Have you been chosen by God? If you haven't, John 5:24 states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
2. Does the thought of the ultimate Bridegroom (Jesus) coming back for his Bride (the Church), a relationship that is closer than any earthly husband and wife relationship, excite or terrify you? It excites me! Revelation 21:2-3 tells us: "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."
As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!
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