A Devotional Guide Through the Book of Genesis

By Mike Newberry

This book started out as devotionals written weekly for a Sunday school class. I teach a young adult Sunday school class, and I regularly challenge them to develop the discipline of a daily quiet time. In hopes of removing any and all excuses, I provided them with these devotionals. During the week, I would study and write five devotionals, then I would provide these each Sunday. I would explain that they only needed five devotionals because if they came to church on Wednesday and Sunday, that would take care of the other two days. This book is not meant to be any kind of a commentary on the book of Genesis. How I approached this each week was, I read Genesis every day, and I stopped at every place where I received a thought. I would then take out my books on Genesis and study the passage, and I would write a short devotional. My hope for this book has not changed since they were originally written. I still hope these devotionals will inspire you to develop the important discipline of a daily quiet time. Maybe you've read the story about Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38–42. Jesus used three words to describe Martha. He said she was "cumbered" in verse 40. The basic meaning of this word is that Martha was distracted. How easy it is to lose focus on all the important things. He said she was "careful" in verse 41. The basic meaning of this word is that she was anxious. He said she was "troubled" in verse 41. The basic meaning of this word is to be worried to the point of disturbed. How many do these words describe them? Jesus said one thing was needed, and Mary had chosen it. Just sit at Jesus's feet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098045807

Book preview

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

—Genesis 1:1–3

We all know what a ripple is. We know that throwing a rock into the water creates a ripple, and water extends in ever-widening circles. We want to call this a rippling effect. One writer I read said this:

All the Bible, Christ and Christian faith, stand or fall with Genesis.¹

Deny what you read here, say it is myth, and you’ve dealt a fatal blow to your entire belief system. Any unbelief here sends a rippling effect and poisons everything else. But you can say I believe here, and it creates a positive rippling effect, and your faith here will provide a strong, sturdy, unshakable foundation upon which you can build faith and trust.

It’s important to understand that Genesis 1:1 stands by itself. It is not dependent on verse 2 for understanding. Why is this important? Because if we say verse 1 is dependent on verse 2, then we open the door to the thinking that the world existed in this chaotic imperfect condition until God came along and began to create. No! Genesis 1:1 is a perfect statement all by itself. In our English translation of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 has ten words. But in the original Hebrew, Genesis 1:1 only has seven words. Number 7, as we know, is God’s number. It symbolizes completion and perfection. There are no gaps of millions of years here. It is so important that we get it right here because remember, unbelief here sours everything else.

Some might say, Can’t we get along with the evolutionist? Can’t we all find common ground? Can’t we all find things we can agree on? No! You draw a line in the sand and say unashamedly and unequivocally, This is what I believe, and this is where I stand.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Wow! What an awesome, powerful, perfect statement. In these words, we have all the needed information. We are told who. We are told what. And we are told when.

First—who? God, this name means Elohim (pronounced el-o-heem). The name means The Almighty. The name denotes plenitude of might and strength and power. One of the reasons we are taught to fear God is because of his power and might. One of the clearest examples of this power is creation. Strip God of this, and the rippling effect goes long and wide. The Bible says about this generation that there is no fear of God before their eyes. This is why we need to argue and debate the evolutionists with our last breath. I believe that God, Elohim, created. I fear. I am in awe of his power. The book of Proverbs teaches us that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.

Second—what? God did what? He created. Only God can create, ex nihilo, out of nothing. Everything that can be said has been created since the beginning was only possible because God created. I learned about this word that its usage in scripture describes divine activity exclusively. Everything else that has ever been created was created out of something else. What something? Something that God, Elohim, created first. When you go about your day today, everything you see God made. Tell God that you stand in awe of his power.

Third—when? In the beginning. Before everything else, guess who was already there. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. The Triune God. The eternal one. Humble yourself before the awesome power of God. Declare to him that he is the Creator and you are the created. Declare to him that he is the Savior, you are the saved, or you are the one in need of saving.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

—Genesis 1:3–25

I want you to notice all the times you see these two phrases: And God said and It was so. No question, no doubt, no maybe so / maybe not, no hesitation, no refusal, no rebellion, no Let me think about it. And God said then—POW! BANG! POOF!—and it was so.

I want to remind you that creation in all its splendor, color, and majestic beauty was just a matter of words. Be reminded of the power of God’s words. Second Peter 3 says, to stir up our minds by way of remembrance (verse 1). Let the Holy Spirit remind you that every word in the Bible is inspired. It is God breathed; it is inerrant; it cannot lead you astray; it is never wrong. Read the Word! Memorize the Word! Quote the Word! Speak the Word! Believe the Word!

I want you to go with me to a couple of places in the scriptures as we think about the thought presented to us today.

Turn to Acts 20:35. Take note of the words in this verse that tells us to remember the words of the Lord Jesus. I’ve heard Jesus called, and I’ve called him this myself, that he is the prince of preachers. How many times does it say that the scribes and Pharisees walked away, saying, No one ever spoke like he does? Read and reread Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Watch him. Watch him as he moves in and out of situations. Learn from him. He never did wrong. He is our perfect example. He was tempted in every way just like we are, and he never sinned. Listen to him. Take in his every word. Let his words soak and saturate every fiber of your being.

Turn to John 6:63. We use life and death to communicate energy, activity, direction, and purpose. We talk about somebody being full of life. We talk about somebody being lifeless. Of course, we don’t mean someone is actually alive or dead but that they exhibit zest. We’re always looking for sources of this kind of life. Jesus says that it’s his words. Later in the text, Jesus turns to his disciples and wants to know if they are going to leave him. Peter gives the answer that should be all our testimonies in verse 68.

To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.

In this chapter, John 6, Jesus is preaching that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. In other words, we have to find life in him as we do our physical food. Jesus is the bread of life; if we eat him, live off him, we shall never hunger. Jesus is the water of life; if we drink him, if we live off him, we shall never thirst. The more we do this, the more it will be said about us: There’s someone who is full of life.

Turn to Matthew 24:35. How much fades and dies with time? Have you ever walked through a cemetery and wondered at the people? Who they were? What they did? If Jesus tarries, I know that I will die, and in time all those who knew me will also pass on, and someone will walk by my grave and wonder the same about me.

The true test of something’s value is durability. How much of what this world calls valuable would not pass this test? Jesus said in Matthew 12:36–37 that every idle word would resound and we would have to give an account. Then he said that by those words, we would be justified or condemned. By that language I’m hearing the thought of my words either being valuable or cheap. What kind of words would be the most valuable? Mark 8:38 says,

Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed.

God forbid that our idle words contain the cheap words of rejection of Jesus and his words. After all, it’s his words that will pass our test of something’s true value. They are some of the few things that will pass the threshold of time and eternity.

Turn to John 16:33. Jesus said that he spoke all that he did so that we could have peace. In the world we will get tribulation. When the world proves Jesus’s words true, and it hands us tribulation, if we’re not careful it takes our peace. Are we helpless? Are we defenseless? Is our only recourse to stand there and take it? No. Even in the midst of tribulation, I can be of good cheer; Jesus has overcome the world. If I will make it my habit, my discipline, to return again and again to his words, I too will find the strength to overcome.

And God said…and it was so.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

—Genesis 1:26–31

Today I want us to focus on a couple of words. Pay attention to the Bible when it talks about subduing² and having dominion. We want to do some word studies today to find out exactly what God created man to have the ability to do.

As we know, Genesis 1 is where we witness God’s creative power! Nature in all its splendor was spoken into existence, and man in all his complexity was formed from the dust and had life breathed into him. Today we want to look at the final creation of God: mankind! And we hope to see that God created him/her with certain hopes, with certain intentions.

I’ve often had the thought that God created me, and when he did, he had a vision of who he wanted me to become.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand. (Psalm 139:14–18)

In everyday language, the psalmist is saying that while I was yet an embryo, with no visible human features. Even then, every page of the book of my life was written; every detail of my life was known. I’ve often had the thought, God, am I close? That vision you had of me, am I close?

To sin is to miss the mark. I know we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. But if I’m growing, with each passing day, I’m being fashioned into the image of Jesus Christ. And even though sin means to miss the mark, if I’m being the clay and letting God be the potter, then every day I’m not missing the mark as bad. And one day I’ll hit the bull’s-eye. Let’s forget what’s behind and reach for what’s ahead and press toward that mark.

Let me get back to our scriptures. God said that man was created to have dominion, to subdue. What exactly is it that we are to subdue and have dominion over? Look. It says, the earth. To make application to us today, we’re to have dominion over our surroundings, our environment, our life.

Folks, we have missed the mark. We’re so busy trying to find an angle to pull a fast one over on the other guy, thinking we have to dominate one another. In the meantime, our environment dictates our actions, our emotional state, our abilities, our thinking, and every phase of our life.

Man was created not to be dominated but to dominate. Again, what is it we are to dominate? It is not our fellow man. Jesus told us in Matthew 20:25 that pagans exercise dominion³ over each other. But it was not to be for God’s children. No. Our relation to man, we are taught to serve one another.

I’ve given you the Hebrew words for subdue and dominion, with their meanings, as part of our study today. Meditate upon this. Soak it in. Hopefully, we will move a little closer to God’s vision and intentions and image of our creation.

Read Romans 5:1–5. Notice what we are to do with tribulation. Notice the progression, how one thing produces another. Rejoice where the progression ends and what we get to have in the end.

Let me ask you something. Did you rule your environment yesterday? Were all your trials and tests a benefit to you? Or did you crumble and knuckle under to the pressure?

God, help me to move closer to the power, the right of being created in your image.

Word Study

Subdue

Hebrew word: kaw-bash

Other scriptures where our word can also be found: Micah 7:19; Zechariah 9:15

Possible meanings of the word: conquer, subjugate, force, keep under, and bring into subjection

Dominion

Hebrew word: raw-daw

Other scriptures where our word can also be found: Numbers 24:19; Judges 5:13;1 Kings 4:24; Psalm 49:14; Psalm 72:8

Possible meanings of our word: to tread down, prevail against, reign, rule, and take

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¹ John R. D.D. Rice, In the Beginning (Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1975), 21.

² Subdue. To acquire a mastery of. Man was created with a mind that was perfect in its capacity for learning, but he did not begin knowing all the secrets. He is commanded to acquire a knowledge and mastery over his material environment, to bring its elements into the service of man. When life throws at you its divers temptations, the Bible says, to find in it joy. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is there to help you in that situation to turn the table around to where that temptation is made to serve you.

³ Dominion. This word is found fifty times in the Old Testament and twelve times in the New Testament. In its verb form, its meanings include to prevail, govern, permit, and overcome. In its noun form, its meanings include lord, government, empire, and ruler.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

—Genesis 2:1–3

We New Testament believers struggle sometimes with the Old Testament in understanding what is the old law, and thus being the old law, as it says in Colossians 2:14, was blotted out and taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of Christ.

There are some believers who take this literally and feel like you have to go to church on Saturday, the original Old Testament Sabbath. How do we mesh all that we read and see in the Old Testament into our New Testament faith?

Back to Colossians 2. Look at verse 16. It says to not let anyone judge us about many things, one of them being the Sabbath.

As we move from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we move from law to grace. In the Old Testament we had the law forcing right behavior from the outside. But through Christ in the New Testament, we have the Holy Spirit empowering us to live righteously from the inside.

I heard once that if we don’t do as the Bible instructs us, using the fact that we no longer live under the law, but now live under grace, then you are a disgrace to grace.

Just because things aren’t law anymore, and no flesh can be justified by the works of the law, it doesn’t mean that they are still not a good idea. I read once that a Jewish Christian was asked if someone could eat pork and still go to heaven. The Jewish Christian answered, Yes, and probably they would go a whole lot sooner.

Let’s learn some things about how it’s important to have a day set aside in our schedules as a day of focus, reflection, worship, gratitude, and rest. The first thing I want you to think about is, why did God do this? Do you think he was really tired? Do you picture God wiping the sweat from his brow and saying, Whew! I’m bushed! Let’s take a siesta!

No. Of course not. God is infinite in stamina and energy. The Lord Jesus taught us in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man. God did it for us.

Since I’ve gotten my degree in counseling and trying to help people solve their problems and have quality lives, I’ve increased my reading in areas of psychological and emotional health. You know what I see over and over again that is suggested to combat stress, depression, and all our other ills? So-called experts are saying that we should have a day of worship. Now, they will include synagogues, mosques, meditations, along with our churches. Don’t misunderstand my bringing this up. I still believe Jesus is the one and only way. I want you to hear that truth behind the suggestion. They’re thinking, with their doctorates and PhDs, that they’ve come up with this brilliant way to have a higher-quality life. I can imagine God in heaven saying, Duh, I told you on the seventh day of human history that you needed to have a Sabbath day. Now after a few thousands of years, you’re finally starting to come around.

Secondly, notice it says that God sanctified this day. The word sanctified means to separate something from everything else and declare it to be holy. It means to set it apart for the purposes of God. In this word I see the importance of making a commitment. In our schedules, when the calendar says, it’s the Lord’s Day, I say to myself, This is not my day, his day, her day. It’s not a day for vacations or sleeping in. This is God’s day. It’s sanctified. I’ve made a commitment on this day to go to church and worship God.

One more thing before we leave our verses today. The whole idea of having a Sabbath Day is that it is a day for my soul, my spirit, my inner man. First Peter 3 warns us about thinking only of the outward body and never considering the needs of the inner man. Have you ever met somebody who was attractive outwardly but had an ugly spirit? What have you done lately to pretty up your inner man?

Read 2 Corinthians 4:16. What needs to happen to our inward man often and regularly?

It is one thing to grow tired outwardly, physically, and bodily. But beware of getting tired in soul. So many are worn out in their spirit.

Long ago, God knew what we would need to be soothed and satisfied at our deepest levels, so he sanctified a day; now let us sanctify it too.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

—Genesis 2:7

I want to convince you of the Father’s care today. I want to cause you to become aware of what the Creator does for all the rest of his creation, and upon that awareness, you rest assuredly that he will clothe, feed, and shelter you.

Jesus taught us in Matthew 6 that if God does what he does for the birds in the air, and the flowers in the field, doesn’t it make sense that he will do that and more for us?

By the time we come to the end of our study today, I want to convince you that no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor mind comprehended all that the Father has in store for those who love him.

I remember once, while studying, I had a thought. I wondered what God could do if he really tried. Look at the world in all its beauty and color and variety of shapes and textures; and yet, if you think about it, all that was created by just opening his mouth and speaking. I mean, come on, how much effort did that take? Think, if God could do that, what could he do if he put a little muscle into it?

Why did Jesus say, again, in Matthew 6 that man is much better than the rest of creation? Look at our verse. It says he did something in man’s creation that he didn’t do in all the rest. Rather than speaking, it says he formed him. I studied the word form. I found its meanings include to squeeze into shape, to mold like a potter, to fashion, to frame.

I can picture God getting down on his hands and knees and shaping the image of man with his hands in the dirt. I can see him painstakingly working on each detail of his face, fingers, mouth, ears, and toes. Then, when he was satisfied, he breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

Now, I want you to turn to John 14:1–3. Take note of the word prepare. I studied this word, and I found that its meanings include to make ready, to adjust. I found it also includes the meaning of being made to fit.

What does all that say to you? It says that heaven will be perfect! It says man is special; we are the special creations of God. It says that God has special plans, special uses, special experiences, and in the end, a special place being made to fit where Jesus and all those saved by faith in him will spend eternity together.

Don’t be wrenched with worry and anxiety today. Don’t let the enemy, our adversary, that roaring lion, steal your peace and security. Let me encourage you to take a walk. Watch God’s created creatures scurrying about finding all that the Creator has provided. Learn a lesson from the squirrel. Be taught by the birds. Watch and listen as all creation tells you, the one and only thing that God formed and constructed and labored to create—that if God does all this for all the rest, won’t he feed and clothe you?

Read Matthew 6:33. Say it in a prayer to God.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

—Genesis 2:8–17

Take note of the words, God planted a garden. Remember what I told you in our thoughts on Genesis 2:7? I told you that I wondered what God could do if he really tried, if he put some muscle into it. When God forms (like he did in Adam’s creation), when he prepares (like it says in John 14, that he’s preparing heaven), when he plants, when he really puts forth some effort, things go to a whole another level! Folks, we’ve not even begun to see all that our God can do. He can create something out of nothing; he can cause a virgin to conceive; he can move mountains; he can walk on water; he can save and make all things new. No matter how dreary or black you think it’s gotten, no matter how impossible you think your situation is, no matter how insurmountable you think the obstacles are, cast your cares upon him, and shout to the heavens, I know in whom I have believed, and he is able!

Notice that after God prepared this ideal place, he put man there. He said, This is where I want you to dwell. This is how I want you to live.

When we love God, when we choose to serve him, when we choose to obey him, the quality of life grows by leaps and bounds.

Notice the contingency to us getting to live in such ideal surroundings is obedience. I must declare that God only knows what is good and evil for me. Only God knows what is right and wrong. Only God knows what is better and best. God created me; he knows me inside and out. I put my life into his hands; I seek and accept his will. Even if I don’t agree, even if I desperately want things to be different, even if I desperately want to escape the moment, all preference goes to God. I say to him, In whatever state I am, in whatever state you see fit to have me in for this moment, I trust you with my life, and I want to be content.

So many people are brainstorming to come up with philosophies and explanations and a belief system by which they can live and exist and explain life and the world. But all we have to do is hear what God says and declare that to be what we believe. I don’t have to wrack my brain. All I do is say, Thus saith the Lord.

If we can do this, if we can let God define the boundaries, if I can live content and obedient within the lines of what he declares to be righteous and sinful, right and wrong, look at the ideal that life can begin to take on.

My eyes see all that is pleasant.

Look up Ecclesiastes 6, and read the chapter. Solomon says that he’s witnessed a great evil. Namely, it’s that God gives riches, wealth, honor, so much so that this individual is in need of nothing. But he still lives in loneliness, heartache, and depression. God gives life, but we don’t enjoy it and are forced to live it anyway. What is the answer? Man embarks upon a search—a constant, never-ending search for something different, something new, something out of the ordinary…anything…anybody. This describes the life of so many lost people. Searching. Searching. Searching.

It’s time we understood something. Notice Ecclesiastes 6:3. The satisfaction of the body is not the ingredient for happiness; it is the satisfaction of soul. You can give this body anything it craves, but your search will never end until your soul is satisfied with Jesus.

Notice Ecclesiastes 6:9. See what he says is better. When I give my life to Jesus, when I give my life to God, the scales of blindness fall off my eyes, and I see what is truly pleasant, good, and truly satisfying.

Give us this day our daily bread.

Read Acts 17:28. Read 2 Peter 1:3. Read James 1:17.

Eternal life.

Through Christ we have the bread of life and the water of life. We eat his flesh and drink his blood. One day in heaven we will have access to the literal tree of life.

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:2)

The knowledge and the heart to obey.

When God says, No, the answer is still no. And no matter how bad my flesh wants to say, Yes, the answer is still no.

Purpose in work and life.

If people would be honest, how many would have to say that their existence is void of purpose? Through Jesus Christ we can discover the very reasons we were created. We can fill our days with actions and activities that will bring real meaning and purpose.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

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 he 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.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

—Genesis 2:18–25

How many times has God said that what he created and what he saw was good? Well, we come to the first time that something is said to be not good. What is it exactly? It is not good to be alone.

Man is a social being. We are made for relationships. We are wired for relationships. Relationships are tricky. Deep, deep hurts have come because of relationships gone sour. We are at our most vulnerable when you open your heart to another human being. When you let someone in, you give them the power to hurt you. And those of us who have experienced a broken heart know that that kind of hurt hurts deep.

But let me tell you…to shut people out, to not trust, to hold people always at arm’s length, that hurts even worse. It’s the one and only thing God said was not good.

I’ve done a lot of reading about boundaries, and I really believe boundary issues are one of the biggest reasons for people’s hurt and confusion. Boundaries usually get messed up when we are at one of two extremes. These extremes are in our ability or inability to say yes and no to people.

At one extreme you have people who can’t say no. These people have a constant open-door policy. It seems they can’t read people, and they are always letting the wrong people in. People at this extreme complain of the wrongs people have inflicted upon them. People at this extreme feel others have manipulated them; they relaxed their personal standards; the constant pressure applied by someone else caused them to make a bad decision. It’s wrong for others to manipulate, but it is wrong for us to let ourselves be manipulated. The Holy Spirit inside us gives us the ability to discern people and situations. I’ve often been told, If in doubt, leave it out. To sin against Holy Spirit’s discernment is to invite hurt and harm and broken hearts. No matter how important we feel a relationship is with someone, if they’re pressuring us to sin against our personal standards, our boundaries have to be strong enough to say, no! And if that causes the relationship to end, well, God saved you, and it wasn’t a healthy relationship.

But someone might be asking, "What if I’m in a situation where I can’t avoid the person? I work with them, or