Knowing our identity in Christ is an essential aspect of being a christian and it plays a vital role in how we respond to difficult situations. This can be seen when we compare the story of Adam and Eve being tempted to the temptation Jesus experienced after his 40 days fasting. 

Adam and Eve's Temptation

In Genesis, the devil's selling point into tricking Eve to eating the fruit was that they will not die but it was because" God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” However in Genesis 1: 27 we saw that "God created human beings;he created them godlike,  Reflecting God’s nature."  In chapter 2:19 God also gave Adam the responsibility to name all that He had made in order to see what Adam would name them (something He would have not been able to do if he didn't have the wisdom and knowledge of God. "Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name." In order words, He named them all as God would have named them. 

From this we can see that Adam and Eve were deceived by the devil to doubt God and subsequently failed to trust that "He will not withhold any good thing from us". But most importantly, the key thing to be learnt here was the fact that they knew not their identity in Christ, because they were already like God in his nature and knowledge. Consequently, allowing the devil to deceive them into doubting God and their identity in God, they fell for the devil's lies which resulted in their spiritual death and being driven out of God's presence. 

Jesus' Temptation

In Matthew chapter 4 we saw that Jesus was tempted after his 40 days and 40 nights fast and as a result He was weak and very hungry. This was when the devil appeared to him to tempt him (at His most vulnerable point.) the Devil tempted Him by saying “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” secondly he said "If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down." And lastly, “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 

Note that in the first two temptation, the devil started by saying "If you are the Son of God", thereby trying to get Jesus to prove himself , His identity that He truly is the Son of God. What most people may not realise is that this happened after the previous chapter Matthew 3 where the spirit of God descended onto Jesus in the form of a dove "And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” . In the same way, in Mark chapter 8:11 “Pharisees came forth, and began to question him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.”

However, Jesus knowing who He was, His identity (being the Son of God) He resisted and Overcame these temptations. Jesus knew that His identity was not based on His works therefore, owned no one a sign in order to prove that He was who He said He was. Moreover, all that the devil tempted Him with were things He already Had (in the same way, with Adam and Eve also.) Particularly where the devil promised to give Jesus the whole world knowing fully well that “All power is given unto me (Jesus)  in heaven and on earth.” Matthew‬ ‭28:18‬

Lesson to be learnt 

The lesson to be learnt here is that when we know our identity in Christ we do not fall for the traps and lies of the devil. Who are you in Christ?

1. You are the Apple of His Eye
2. His most priced possession
3. Bought at a very high price (the blood of Jesus)
4. A chosen Generation
5. His Royal priesthood

Knowing your worth and identity will help you when the devil tries to trick and deceive you into thinking that you need to earn God’s love through your works, you’ve sinned and as a result God is mad at you and you’ve gone too far this time to get God’s forgiveness. The truth is we didn’t choose God, He chose us and “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 NIV

Your identify and worth can only be found in Christ, the Word and that is the only way you can overcome temptation and resist the devil.  Knowing your identity and worth will enable you to take charge over situations in your lives because you know who your father is, the power that you carry.

Positive thinking is when we approach challenges and situations we find ourselves in with an optimistic outlook. Positive thinking can be a powerful tool in helping to make the most of potentially bad situations. Anyone can become an optimist with the right attitude, but positive thinking is not faith. The one thing that can separate a person in Christ from an optimist is their faith.

In Hebrews chapter 11 the bible says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". There’s a common saying that "seeing is believing", but that is not what God wants from us. God wants us to believe before we see, he wants us to have confidence and assurance that it doesn’t matter how bad the situation is because with Him all things are possible. Faith requires us to see beyond the physical circumstances and put our trust in God, it doesn’t require the situation to makes sense to us, it just requires us to believe.

Most of us believe in God and pray to him about difficult situations and yet we don’t back our faith with actions. You can’t say one thing and think another in your mind. There must be a complete synergy between our minds and the words we speak with our mouth. What we say must correspond with the picture we have in mind. We can’t have faith without conviction in the word of God neither can we claim to have faith if our words and action do not show it. This brings us to Genesis chapter 22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He wakes up the next morning, gathers everything he will need for the offering and sets out with his son. And in verses 7 and 8 we get to experience the essence of Abraham’s faith, “7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together”. It was as if Abraham had read Numbers chapter 14:28 “^So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say” before he left for the mountains.

Abraham did not only prove in this chapter that he feared God and had faith, but he also put that faith in action through his words. He didn’t just believe in his mind God was going to come through, he declared it out loud in faith because there’s power in the things we say and when we walk with God and talk in faith, He will not withhold anything good from us.  And as a result, he was counted as righteous because of his faith.

Having faith does not mean we ignore our problems wholly or act like they do not exist. But rather, it requires us to face the truth in our situation yet look past it and keep our eyes on God knowing that with him nothing is impossible. This can also be seen in Romans 4 where Abraham19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

This is the kind of faith God requires from us. The only way in which our faith can be strengthened so that we might adopt a positive mental attitude can be found in Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

"If There is a God why is there so much suffering  suffering?" Is a controversial question that is asked by many but what they don't realise is that God does actually exist but He's a reality ONLY to those who have accepted, believe, obey and trust in him. Only people who genuinely know who God is by knowing, reading and obeying His word can comprehend His nature.

Following the "In the beginning- Genesis 1" blog post ( please it read first if you haven't in order to get a full understanding), we saw God's perfect plan and His intentions for the world  especially for humans. The last verse of Genesis chapter one (the creation) says "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." God created a world that was perfect, where there was light, no pain, no death and no struggle because it was all good and His presence was there. Reading on, in Genesis chapter two verse seventeen; “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬ where God says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

By giving Adam and Eve a choice, God gave them the ability to exercise free Will. Free will to either Obey and Trust in Him or choose their own path/destiny by eating the fruit. God did not want to force us to obey Him or limit us to doing the very things He created us for which was to serve him by loving others, showing kindness, showing mercy to others and doing the very things that pleases him. Rather, He wanted us to do all these (to Love Him) out of our own free will. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:27. Using their free will, Adam and Eve opened the door for evil to enter the world and jumped out of the perfect state which God had placed them in. And in so doing, opened the world to sin and suffering, a consequence we are still experiencing now. As stated in Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

This tells us that for all of us suffering is inevitable however the end results for those who are in Christ are different to that of unbelievers. This is because for those in Christ there is always hope because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37. Romans 8:28 also "tells us that all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." From these two as well as many more scriptures in relation the promises made to those who experience suffering, they are all subject to "those who love the Lord". 

That brings us to the story of Job. A man who was described as  “blameless and “upright,” who feared the Lord and shunt evil" Job 1:1 and yet he still faced a lot of pain and suffering and lost everything he had. However, after he had endured all that suffering "the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." This also tells us that good people are not exempt from suffering. 

Sometimes God also uses suffering to test our hearts, help us grow spiritually and to strengthen our faith and in the end we are rewarded for our endurance. ^"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."  James 1:12.
Following the story of Job, we see that God allowed Job's suffering as a way to test and strengthen his faith. This is seen throughout the Bible as God used various trials and tribulations to test and strengthen the faith of people who had chosen to follow His will for their-lives.

Verse to remember:
"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." James 1:13-14

Genesis chapter two highlights God's character, God's principles, our choices we make and the consequences it carries with it as well as what we should look for in a person we wish to enter into courtship with or marry.

Following the last chapter of Genesis chapter 1 “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!" We see that the first three verses of Genesis chapter 2 is an emphasis on God completing all His creations (all that he set out to do) both the heavens and the earth before resting. 

God declared His day of rest day, 'The Sabbath day' Holy not because it was the only day that we are to go to church, keep Holy or serve him but a day to be marked and remembered as it was the first ever day that He completed a good work He began, a day that everything He desired to create had been made. 

God is omniscient (all knowing) ,He knew that the creation of the heavens and the earth, was the first ever thing that he would complete.  This is due to the fact God knew that man would choose death over life and as a result sin would enter the world and that He would have to device a plan (Jesus Christ) to save us. This is why we can never be perfect but through grace which is a gift given through Christ, we are righteous and made right with God. Through Christ ( who was and is the Word) we are constantly being renewed, transformed and shaped into who God has ordained us to be. Note here I said "Constantly" which means ongoing until the return or the second coming of Christ. This explains Philippians 1:6; "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Following this, we see the second principle that God set; being that He will not rest until everything and everyone is good, that all His plans and purposes for our lives have come to past and that every bit of His Word has been fulfilled. This is evident in Matthew 5:18 where Jesus says “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” This can also be seen with Jacob in Genesis 28:13 when God first revealed Himself to him as the God of his grandfather Abraham and the God of his father Issac. Reading on, we see that God reveals his marvellous plans and purpose for Jacob and doesn't stop there but he throws in promises in verse 15 with the most important part being "I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15. 

Thus explaining Genesis 2:2-3

Genesis 2: 16-17 NIV

“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy 30:19 where It says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

Here we also see the first and most important choice that God ever gave man. This was to either obey and trust in God knowing that he knows what’s best for us or disobeying him and following our own path thinking we know what’s best concerning what life has to offer. 

Psalm 84:11 mentions that “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Which is evident as God put two types of trees in garden; the "Tree of life" and the "tree of knowledge of good and evil yet the only thing he prohibited them from having was the tree of knowledge of Good and evil as it would cause them to die should they have it.

Genesis 2:18 

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

From Genesis 1 up until this verse, in all God created He said that “it was good”. Man was in the presence of God, had everything he needed; gold, animals, food etc. Yet God knew that was not enough because he needed a companion that was just right for him. This means that the person who you date/enter into courtship should be your helper. Their strength will complement your weakness and vise versa thereby helping you to grow as a person, draw you closer to God not further away and also help you to grow towards fulfilling your purpose and destiny in life.

Sometimes, we may feel tainted by our past and thus may deem ourselves unfit to be in the presence of God. But the flame of God's love is so pure and so perfect that it purifies our sins and our past indiscretions. His love heals from any pain or bad memories from our tainted past. God does not see our faults, He only sees through His pure, Holy and perfect love. And in His eyes, we are perfect.

The life of Apostle Paul epitomises God's unconditional love, as it shows that no one is beyond saving. Paul formally known as Saul was essentially a religious terrorist as he had been raised in a faith that did not allow him to compromise in his beliefs. In his mind he was serving and doing God's work whiles he was doing the opposite. And in doing so ended up viciously and ruthlessly prosecuting and killing innocent people. As stated in Acts 8:3 "But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison".

The most fascinating part of the story of Paul is that God chose to show his grace to him when he was at the apex of his extremism towards the early church. The account of Paul's first encounter with Jesus occurred on his way to Damascus as recorded in the book of Acts chapter 9. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem”.  On the road when he was about to get to Damascus, Saul was caught up in a light from heaven which caused him to fall face down on the ground. He hears the words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He says, “Who are you Lord?” Jesus answers directly and clearly, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”. He subsequently went on into the city and was later converted into a disciple of God and his name was changed from Saul to Paul.

Therefore, from this remarkable story of Paul we’ve seen that anyone can be transformed by the grace of God. He was literally transformed from a religious extremist into a chosen instrument who preached the name of Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul never had the chance to meet Jesus in person like his disciples did and he certainly didn’t have the opportunity to learn from Jesus like the Peters of this world and yet he went on to write many of the New Testament books. Most theologians agree that he wrote Romans, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians, Philemon, Ephesians, Colossians, 1^st and 2^nd Timothy and Titus. This is what the saving grace of God can do.

The pharisees always wondered why Jesus would spend time and associate himself with "tax collectors and sinners", in other words people who the pharisees thought less of. And when they finally asked Jesus about it Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)

God does not call people who are perfect or worthy in the eyes of society. Instead he calls those we see as weak, unfit, broken and then he transforms them. As seen in the book of Roman 8: 29-30 " 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn[b] among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory". the Bible says that after he called, he gave them the right standing with himself. Therefore, God didn't call people who were qualified but instead he qualified the people he chose.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God requires us all to give thanks in all circumstances. One might say that it is easier said than done. However when we become mature in Christ and have a full understanding of Who God is and how He works, this becomes fairly easy. This is because understanding God more and developing a close relationship with God enables us to serve God for who He is rather than what He does for us or what He can give us.

What good is it to give thanks to God if we only do it when it suits us and when all is well with us?
Which is why we should remember that we are giving thanks IN the circumstance not for the circumstance

For prayer and reflection:
Dear Lord, please give me the courage to give thanks to you in whatever situation I may find myself.
Amen