Daring Joyنموونە

Eve: Trusting God’s Joy

In the bouquet of biblical women, it’s easy to look at Eve as the weed—“the bad one” or “the one who ruined everything.” As we step into her story and seek to understand her, I encourage you to examine what the patterns and pitfalls in Eve’s story look like in your own life. Of course, the details of your story will be different. But every struggle for joy has its roots in the garden. The war between the illusionary joy that promises more than it can deliver and the true and full joy that Jesus offers is a battle fought then and now.

In Genesis 3, we see Eve fall prey to the serpent’s deceit, as we often do in our own lives. The enemy’s questions cause her to doubt not only what she knows about the good character of God but also God’s goodwill toward her as His child. She concludes that instead of offering her joy in abundance, God is holding out on her and does not actually have her best interests at heart.

Eve is the one woman in history who knew the perfect joy described in the first two chapters of Genesis. She wanted for nothing in her relationship with God and in her life in the garden of Eden. Yet, she traded this great joy for a lesser, illusionary joy.

Illusionary joy sees the gift as an end itself. Therefore, an illusionary joy promises more satisfaction and delight than it can actually deliver. No gift can contain the splendor of the Giver, and every gift will ultimately leave us wanting.

Every day we trade authentic joy for illusionary joy as well. Illusionary joys may not be tangible things or obvious pleasures such as wealth, status, or comfort. They can also look like control, people pleasing, winning approval, belonging, or being right (to name just a few examples).

What the enemy wants for you and what God wants for you stand in direct opposition to one another, and it has been this way since the garden. While Satan’s aim is destruction, God’s design and purpose for you is life to the fullest.

Many of us have learned to see a relationship with God as opposing to our freedom and joy. But the reality is, taking God out of our joy leads to heartache. Doubting God’s character and desire for our goodness and joy leads to sin. Eve failed to trust that God is more of an advocate for our joy than we are.

The boundaries we experience in this life (including our own limitations) are not barriers to our joy. Rather, they are meant to be avenues of freedom and joy in our lives. And every time we choose joy in Him over the illusionary joys of our world, we reflect His glory and love to those around us.

Eve’s story might seem like an unusual story to study as we begin our quest toward daring to embrace joy, but understanding what is broken in us opens the door for restoration. We will celebrate the hope of our Savior to the extent that we are sorrowful about our sin. Frankly, grace isn’t a gift that will bring us much joy if we don’t first acknowledge how much we need it.

God’s question to Adam and Eve after they ate the forbidden fruit was not, “How could you?” It was, “Where are you?” God, the One who created them in His own image, pursued them in their sin. And God’s pursuit didn’t end with Adam and Eve. This same pursuit is a central theme throughout the entire biblical narrative and in your story and mine.

Eve’s story is just the beginning. After the garden, she and Adam bore the first children and generations tumbled forward from their lineage, none of whom would know the perfect joy she experienced with God. But even while they were still in the garden, we see a glimpse of the greatest joy—Jesus Himself (Gen. 3:15).

Read Genesis 3:1-21. Think about the “illusionary joys” you look to for satisfaction in your life. As you begin this quest toward abundant joy, ask the Lord to redirect your heart to find its joy fully and completely in Him.