Daughters of Grace Collection
Daughters of Grace (Eve)
As I prayed about this collection and the decision of which woman to start the collection with, I kept coming to Eve. I knew it was meant to be launched on Mother's Day. Eve is a mother to us all, and she is the first woman, the first daughter, so it was only fitting that she would be the first of the Daughters of Grace. Not only is Eve the mother of all, but her lineage also leads us to Jesus. Eve is the mother of all the women in the Bible that God used in powerful ways. These women stand out and teach us a great deal. When women were not regarded with much worth or standing, Jesus showed us time and time that we have great value. But Eve was first. “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made him a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:21-23 "The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living.” Genesis 3:20
God gave Adam and Eve charge over Eden and gave them just one restriction. Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. But Satan came in the form of a serpent and convinced Eve that God was holding out on her. That she would gain more knowledge if she ate from the tree. Eve was naive enough to believe him. She ate from the tree and shared the fruit with her husband. Eve and Adam disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Because of their disobedience, sin damaged Eve’s relationship with her husband and her childbearing and resulted in the fall of man.
I have often thought about Eve. I often wondered how horrible she felt at her role in the fall of man. I can imagine that Satan often reminded her of it. He is an expert in planting those negative seeds in our minds. The fiercest battles we fight are the battles of our minds. I’ve had to fight my own battles there. Just like Eve, I have my own regrets over the choices I made in my life. Whenever we are in rebellion, we give access to Satan, and he will use it to his full advantage. But God is so faithful even when we disregard Him.
When God entered the garden after Adam and Eve’s sin, Adam and Eve hid in shame from Him. But God sought them out. When He asked them why they were hiding, they confessed they did wrong and were naked, embarrassed, and ashamed. But He sought them out, already knowing what they had done, and even at that moment, he did something for them that shows just how much He cared. Do you know what that was? He covered them and clothed them. If you think about it, it is a picture of Him covering us with His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. This act of mercy is a foreshadowing of just how much he loves us. God was merciful with her, just as He is with us. Yes, Satan got in Eve’s head. Satan convinced her that she was missing out. “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.” Genesis 3:6 (NLT)
God is so good, though. The enemy got in Eve's head, so God caused her offspring to crush the enemy's head. Genesis 3:15 includes what is often called the first gospel promise. God promised that one of Eve's offspring would crush Satan and the power of sin in this world. Remember this: If you think you are not enough or are full of condemnation, God did not put it there. When this happens, you can stand from a place of victory. We have to fight for our place of victory in every instance of our thought life. We have to replace negative thinking with positive thinking. Declaring scripture is a powerful way to do this. We also do this by taking steps towards personal growth in our relationship with God. It is hard to fight the thoughts of our mind if we don't know and recognize our Shepherd's voice. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28 Sheep respond to the shepherd's voice because they have learned to trust the shepherd. They know that if they follow the shepherd, the shepherd will provide security and rest and lead them to good pastures and freshwater.
It's about relationships, and relationships require time spent with one another. You are the only one responsible for your own spiritual growth. We have the helper of the Holy Spirit, and God does the changing but it also takes action from us. One of the biggest mistakes I discovered was not asking and not being specific enough in my prayers, conversations, and questions with God. God doesn’t just want our prayers; he wants us to spend time with Him. How do you grow in your relationship with God?
- Put yourself in environments that will grow you.
- Put yourself around people that spur you on.
- Be a person that builds others up and does not tear them down. Don’t fall for the condemning game that Satan spurs in us.
- Take steps towards being all in.
- Identify the thoughts.
- Ask yourself if God thinks that and does it align up with the Bible.
- Bind the thoughts up. Wrap it up in the truth of God. Use your authority in the name of Jesus.
- Make your thoughts obedient. Recognize the thought, don't deny it because that just causes it to get buried deep.
- Don’t allow it to bind you up.
- Learn the truth: read the Bible.
- Change the thought. You can control your thoughts.
- Practice gratitude. It is hard to be negative when you start focusing on all that is good.
- I'm in God's story …
- I am marked by the holy seal of God
- I am fearful and wonderful made (Psalms 139:14)
- Remember, we are God's image bearers!
You are going to be molding into something. It's just going to be either the world's view or God's view. We can get caught up in the unfairness of this world. We can get caught up in the lies Satan feeds to us through broken marriages, our rebellion, and childhood hurts. Satan comes to kill and destroy, and he uses the battles in our minds to do this. When you realize that Satan is a Liar and start to see his methodology, you take a massive step in maturity and freedom.
Until then, we have the promise God gave Eve. We see it come to pass many generations later when another woman—Mary—gave birth to a son, and he was named Jesus because he would "save his people from their sins" Matthew 1:21. He, the Son of God and Son of Man, came "to destroy the devil's work" by dying on the cross to save us. That battle will not be over until Jesus comes again (Revelation 20:11-21:8). What a day that will be when the victory over sin will be complete!
If you have never accepted Jesus as your savior, you can do that now with this prayer. Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name, Amen. Remember, it's not the words of the prayer that save you; it's the repentance and faith in your heart that lay hold of salvation if you prayed that prayer today. Congratulations! I encourage you to find a community of believers that will support you in your walk with the Lord.
Thank you so much for allowing me to present this collection in this way. I can not tell you how blessed it has been for me. I hope you will recognize your extraordinary qualities in these stories and that the principles God showed me in my study help you in your walk and relationship with our Father. I pray also that you will discover what a wonderful Father we have. Love, Evia
