Time of Confession

And He (the Lord) said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded you that you should not eat?” And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she mave me of the tree, and I did eat.” And the Lord God said unto the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Genesis 3:11-13

Steps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

God now confronts Adam and Eve with the obvious. He asks how they knew that they were naked. They now have opportunity to say that they have done wrong, admit it, and turn away from it. Mankind, in its sinful state, has a great difficulty admitting the truth. Adam and Eve both do what addicts do best, the avoid the truth, and then blame other people, places, and things. Adam blames His wife, Eve blames the snake, and they both blame God. They blame Him under the heading that if He had not given Adam the wife, and if God had not allowed the snake to be there, and if He hadn’t have put the tree there, and if He hadn’t have warned them, then none of this would have happened. Neither Adam nor Eve were willing to accept the inventory that they had chosen to rebel and turn away from God. Neither of them were willing to state the obvious that they both could have said no to the fruit. They were free to choose whether to eat or say no to the serpent and yes to God. Their hearts had still not been touched, the spiritual awakening had not yet occurred, and their recovery experience had not yet begun.

Prayer for Today: God you already know what we have done to you and to each other. Help us, when it is our turn to confess, that we will be willing to accept the truth about ourselves. Help us to let go of denial and self-deception and be willing to walk with you in the truth. Help us when we are afraid that we may see your face and see that our sins cause you pain as well as it does to us. Today we ask for the power to respond to you and admit the truth and then allow you to help us.