Fear of Past Failures

 

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:8-10 ESV).

 

The past and regret play a huge role in our level of fear and anxiety. All of us have done something we shouldn’t have, or not done something we should have done and immediately realized how bad a decision we have made. Some of those decisions have set into motion consequences that still affect us. The key in achieving peace in the present and hope for the future is in learning from each of these experiences and trusting God to work His grace in our lives.

 

In our reading today we see that Adam and Eve sinned against God. They knew that he had told them not to eat from one of the trees in the garden. But they gave in to temptation and ate the fruit of that tree anyway. Like children afraid of a parent, Adam and Eve hid from God, hoping to escape the consequences of their actions. Adam and Eve were afraid of what God might say or do to them because of their disobedience.

 

While there certainly were enormous consequences for their sin—consequences that we still experience today—there was also forgiveness and grace. God continued to care for them. He didn’t just leave them to themselves. In fact, from the moment of their sin God began to shape history toward reconciling Adam and Eve and all their children to himself.

 

While God hates sin, he loves us and has gone to extraordinary lengths to bring us back to him. Forgiveness and grace are God’s gifts to his people every day. That can ease our anxiety as we face new challenges in our lives. Learn from your past. Change your direction and path to eliminate them from your present. Trust the grace and mercy of God for your future.