Reconnect: Experiencing Deeper Intimacy With God

By Joan E. Murray and Rudy Beltran

Do you want to have a greater relationship and deeper intimacy with God?

Do you long to connect to Him in a more powerful way?

If the deep longing of your heart is to feel the same

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joan Murray Ministries
• Release date: Apr 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9781963016109

Joan E. Murray

Joan E. Murray is an experienced entrepreneur and visionary passionate about helping people discover their destinies. She has over 25 years of experience in management and has been a catalyst for helping to build and strengthen underserved communities. Joan is a dynamic speaker and author committed to helping people discover their destinies. She is the Founder/CEO of Joan Murray Ministries and JEMM Conferences, which focus on teaching life-transforming biblical truths. She ministers in women's groups and conferences worldwide, teaching people they are masterpieces created in Christ for good works. She has served in ministry for 18.5 years as an international Bible teacher, author (18 books), speaker, and missionary. Joan has traveled extensively domestically and internationally, sharing the gospel message and serving the needs of the poor, widows, orphans, and aliens. Joan has been featured in various magazines and newspaper articles on TBN, Daystar, CBN, TCT Network, Destiny TV, and international television networks. She has been aired on several radio stations, such as KSBJ, The Word, BPN Radio, etc. She can be heard on Kingdom Purpose Radio every Thursday at 11:00 am CST.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

DISCONNECTED

Early one evening, the voice of God rang out in the Garden of Eden, Adam, where are you, God called. Adam answered, I heard You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself. Adam had an intimate relationship with his Creator from the first moment of his existence—he walked and talked with God in the cool of each day—until this day.

When God came looking for Adam for their face-to-face fellowship, He could not find him in the usual spot. Adam hid from God because he had become disconnected. He was naked, ashamed, and lost, and for the first time in his existence, Adam hid from the One who meant everything to him.

As you continue reading, you will discover how the devil tricked Adam into losing his connection with God and how he also has a plan for your demise.

Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from the tree in the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, Where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then the LORD God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

—Genesis 3:1-13 (NIV)

Hum. There was trouble in the Garden of Eden because the devil plotted and planned the demise of Adam and Eve, and he succeeded. He wanted their authority and power, and he won because they missed something significant in God's instructions. In their desire to be like God and to know what He knows, they did not realize they already had God’s power and authority. They had the nature and mind of God, were created in His image, and had access to all the power they could handle. Satan came to kill, steal, and destroy them (to make them powerless). He succeeded (John 10:10). The enemy is determined to cause a disconnection between you and God, and it is your responsibility to withstand Satan and overcome him.

When I hear the word reconnect, it speaks to me of having a prior connection to something or someone—a connection that is now broken. Reconnect means to link up. God created man to connect and fellowship with Him. This connection was to ensure our success; therefore, the instruction God gave Adam not to eat from the one tree in the garden was not meant to keep him from enjoying himself but to keep him safe.

In my book, Winning in the Battles of Life, I discuss how God gave Adam the instruction before He created Eve. This account tells us Satan must have been in the garden because he repeated to Eve—almost verbatim —what God had told Adam. The devil did not approach Adam to cause man's downfall; he spoke to the woman. God talked to Adam, the head of the family, but the enemy bypassed him and spoke to Eve. He made her doubt herself and caused her to question God's instructions to her husband. The devil tempted her through her physical senses. She wanted what her eyes saw, what her flesh cried out for, and what pride told her she had to have because it looked good, would taste good, and would certainly make her feel good. Her desire was so overwhelming she did not stop to consider God’s instruction that if they ate from the tree, they would die. Eve did not understand death and made her decision without considering the consequences.

Now, this is where the story gets more interesting. After Eve took and ate the fruit, the Bible says she gave it to her husband, who was with her. I have a question. Was Adam standing right there as the enemy enticed Eve? Yes, he was. He heard the devil convince his wife to sin and disobey God, and he neither said nor did anything to stop the exchange even though he had received explicit instructions from the Lord. Some believe Eve did not need to look for Adam to share the fruit as he was next to her. She turned and handed the fruit to him, and Adam ate without being coerced. Adam willingly and willfully ate the fruit.

I would venture to say once Adam saw that Eve had eaten the fruit and was still alive, he decided to join her because he was not about to lose his connection with her. Maybe he also wanted to discover what she had experienced from eating the fruit. Adam chose death and separation from God so he could stay connected to Eve, and he chose Eve and disobedience instead of God and obedience to His Word. Disconnection happened immediately. Their eyes were opened, and they instantly knew what sin was. For the first time, they noticed their nakedness and were ashamed.

The full realization of their actions came to light later that evening. God came to visit Adam and Eve as He had done all along. God knew they had sinned but still came to see them because they were His children. God had to deal with their disobedience and the devil who caused the disconnection with His children. When God asked Adam where he was, God was not asking about his physical location in the Garden of Eden. God was asking about his heart condition and spiritual location. Adam’s nakedness brought shame, and his disobedience resulted in fear causing him to hide from God. God, in His great love and compassion, killed one of the animals Adam had named to provide clothing for them. Sin caused the first shedding of blood.

As God revealed the consequences of their sins and the suffering they would endure, Adam and Eve learned the true meaning of death and how disconnected they were from God. I imagine Adam thought He would continue daily fellowship with God after God's visit, but God’s presence was removed from him. When Adam experienced total disconnection, he finally understood what death was. Death meant he was separated from God, and God would no longer meet with him face-to-face.

When God asked them what they had done, He allowed them to own their sins, repent, turn away from disobedience, and turn back to God. However, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither of them acknowledged their wrongdoing. Disconnection happened not only with God but also in their relationship with each other because the enemy caused them to start playing the blame game. Many centuries later, we are still experiencing this same disconnection from God and one another. People are still blaming others for their sins. Because of Adam and Eve’s disconnection, our connection with God was broken. You and I needed to reconnect to the heart of God, and He provided the way.

Adam missed his opportunity to stay connected to God, but Jesus, known as the second Adam, did not. The devil knew Jesus had fasted and prayed for forty days when he went to Jesus in the desert and told Him to turn stone into bread. Jesus replied, Man shall not live on bread alone (Luke 4:4 NIV). This temptation came when Jesus was hungry and at a weak and vulnerable point in His life. The devil tempted Jesus with food, tried to get Him to test God, and offered Him the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. Jesus responded to each temptation with the Word of