Daily Devotional, Sept 28, 2023 Garments from Eden
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
Clothing is one of the basic needs of man. We need something to cover and protect our bodies from the environment and other elements in our surroundings. The Lord for sure knows this need of ours hence, he showed His loving mercy to Adam and Eve through providing them with clothing.
After cursing the couple for the consequences of disobedience, the Lord sewed them garments “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). Whether the act was done right away or not, it showed how merciful God was to them, providing them what they needed even if they chose to sin.
Each of us Christians have “garments from eden,” which could possibly be summed up as blessings we do not even deserve giving our waywardness. It could be good health, provisions, protection from calamities, having a good family, or a stable job. Some of us struggle to see these “garments” as their eyes are blinded either by their sins or their sense of entitlement. These people are very similar to the individuals the Apostle Paul described in his Letter to the Roman church: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21)
The way to see these garments in our life is through a grateful heart. After asking for forgiveness and repenting, we should count the blessings that we have, and be thankful. Our merciful God longs to forgive and bless us. As promised in Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”
In the same breath we are also being called to extend the same mercy to those who may have wronged us. As parents, we are challenged to do this every single day since children are bound to test our limits. Let us look on to the Lord’s example of mercifulness and answer to His call to forgive others just as He forgave us. The Apostle Paul reminded us about this challenge in his Letter to the Ephesians: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Genesis 3, and Hebrews 4:15-16 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: What are your garments from Eden? Have you stopped to thank the Lord for these undeserved blessings?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for being the merciful God that you are. For wanting to forgive us in spite of our sinfulness and direct disobedience to your commands. I ask for your continued mercy just as I thank you for each of the underserved blessings that you shower upon me. I will try my very best to live a life that is pleasing to you. Amen.