Why Did God Look for Adam? – Part 2

I’ve always prided myself as someone who is truly authentic—someone who kept it 100. If that phrase goes over your head, it’s okay. Let me break it down really quickly. It just means to be 100%. So in all interactions, my response and thoughts would always communicate where I stand in relation to the discussion at hand. While I am usually very authentic with all people, the one person I have a problem being authentic with is myself. Three years ago, I remember going to meet with a therapist for the first time in over fifteen years. I sat down on that couch and just began to lay out everything I was wrestling with in my mind. The therapist, who is a Christian, asked me one simple question that would change my life: “Why did God ask Adam for Adam’s whereabouts in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3?” For the last 18 years of my life, I have been engaged in reading my Bible and finding tons of other resources to enrich my understanding of it, but this simple question stumped me. As many times as I have read that story, I never thought to ask myself this question. I know that God is all-knowing, so why would He have to ask Adam that question?

After I floundered with no answer for a while, my therapist graciously began to unpack a truth that rocked me to my core. God wasn’t asking this question because He didn’t know the answer. Rather, God was asking for the sake of Adam. The question would reveal if Adam actually knew where he was in his relationship with his Creator. Did Adam actually understand where he stood in his current fallen state?

My therapist then looked at me and asked me, “Adrian, where are you?” He then proceeded to read me all my mail. “You hide behind the fig leaves of biblical truth and sound theology. You hide behind your charisma and the right things to say,” he said. “Yet, when was the last time you actually told God where you are emotionally? When was the last time you communicated to God that you were scared, sad, angry, or even mad with Him?”

So in all that, what he was really asking me was, “When is the last time you kept it 100?” The sad truth was, I couldn’t remember the last time. I knew the right scriptures to pull out when I was betrayed or felt afraid, but I never really dug into how being betrayed made me feel or why I was afraid. I would just drop my head, quote the scriptures like some sort of pagan mantra, and keep myself moving. I knew the scriptures could bring healing to my soul, but I was never willing to find the source of my pain. Thus, there were times when God’s Word seemed ineffective because I didn’t know how to apply it.

As I sat in the office and allowed the shock of this truth sink into my mind, my therapist gave me an assignment—a sort of prescription. It’s an assignment I have tried to apply consistently in my life over the last three years, and it has yielded amazing results. It’s what I call “The 5 minutes of real.” I start my day with telling God where I really am in my soul. I keep it real. I tell God exactly how I feel. I hold no punches and tell Him when I am afraid, jealous, angry, anxious, what I’m insecure about, etc. I go to the dark places of my soul that I so often would previously ignore—the places I didn’t want to exist, the places I didn’t want anyone else (including Jesus) to know existed. The 5 minutes of real has changed my life. It’s changed me not because I just vent to God and move on, but instead because it allows me to be transparent with God and myself. I can then run all my emotions and feelings through the grid of Scripture. I’ve come to realize that simply vocalizing what makes me worried helps me discern the things I shouldn’t be anxious about. Other times, when I’m offended by someone’s words or actions, I will tell God about how I really feel. I actually told God one time that I hope a curse comes upon a person and his family because of the hurt! (Some of you are may cringe after reading that, but in your heart you have done something like that before). After telling God my emotional reaction, I run it through the Word. After I take situations like that to God, and if I find myself still struggling with those feelings, I obey Scripture and approach the person. It’s amazing how much this process has helped me in my marriage, friendships, and every other relationship.

So now it’s your turn. I implore you to take this next week at the very least and try “The 5 minutes of real.” I think you’ll be pleased with the results. So here is the process:

Tell God – this only works if you are absolutely honest. Plus, you might as well tell Him because it’s not like He doesn’t already know what you’re thinking and feeling.

Run it – once the fullness of your feelings has been expressed, begin going to scripture to see what truth needs to be applied to your life for this situation.

Move – after you have the outline of what should be done by getting examples from the scripture, there is usually two ways to respond. Move past it by fully releasing the weight of the emotion to God. Or, if you find yourself somewhere that the feelings are not subsiding, reach out to someone who can assist with processing through the emotions further.

That would be all the steps. So now I encourage you to take this next week to practice them. I would love to hear feedback on your experiences with the 5 minutes of real and how it worked for you.