I have read the Genesis account many times over the years, but I remember clearly the moment when I read Genesis 3:8 seemingly for the first time. Our church had recently conducted a 90-minute worship set during a service where the presence of the Lord fell so powerfully that the musicians stopped playing and the entire congregation worshiped the Lord in silence. In those moments, we bathed in His glory. Sensing that the Holy Spirit had moved in our midst, we recognized that our lives were powerfully touched; something had shifted, and we were not the same.
There is nothing like the presence of the Lord, and I am so honored to have found a community that prioritizes it. As I walk with God in my life’s journey, I have learned that giving the presence of the Lord supreme authority and priority in my life has been a major key to breakthrough, especially as it relates to healing. I do not seek His presence solely to receive healing; I worship Him because He is worthy. Still, there is an undeniable and glorious direct correlation between His presence and our transformation.
It is of the utmost importance to learn to cultivate intimacy with the Lord in His presence. Adam and Eve knew this well. For many years, when I considered the Genesis account, I imagined that Adam and Eve walked daily with the Lord, until they sinned and hid themselves. But the first couple did more than just hide amongst the trees of the garden; they removed themselves from the very presence of the Lord and all of His glory.
Prior to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, they had only experienced the presence of God. They knew nothing other than a Kingdom mindset. They did not have a broken, unhealthy childhood. They were not filled with lies from their past. In fact, they were filled with only good things and the word of God. Through conversing and walking with Him, they knew nothing apart from His awesome truth. Even so, Satan was able to twist the words of God in such a way that they were both deceived and subject to death.
God wants us to take His Word very seriously. In Genesis 2:16-17, the Lord gave Adam and Eve a simple, clear command. They had permission to live abundantly and eat of all the trees in the garden except for one. They were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil under any circumstances or else their perfect, beautiful life would end and they would die. I assume they didn’t understand what death was, but th