Just Wait
“Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.’ Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:18-23
I’ve heard Genesis so many times. It’s easy to read it and brush it aside. Oh, yea, duh we were created, old news. But last summer, I was reading Donald Miller’s Searching for God Knows What and I reevaluated this passage. We’ve all heard the story: God creates man, man names all the animals, and then God creates woman.
But wait…Donald Miller points out something that I had never thought about in regards to this passage. Adam was lonely. Really, really lonely. The Garden of Eden wasn’t a cozy little cottage with a stream and some food. Adam was living in a huge, vast, open land with mountains and rivers. But there were no people. What is the longest time you’ve ever spent alone?
One time on an Outward Bound trip, I spent 40 hours by myself. I almost went crazy not having someone else to talk to! And that was less than two days! Adam was isolated in a huge place all alone. God knew he was lonely.
But God did not just give Adam his partner. No no, he made him name every animal on earth first! Think about this for a second. Every animal on the planet! I don’t even think I know about a quarter of the animals on this earth. And Adam had to name each one. This would have taken a long time.
So Adam was created, he was lonely, and then he had to wait a long time for a companion!
So when God finally brought Adam a woman, he exclaims his great joy in finally seeing a similar being. It must have been the best day of his life! He was so lonely. He had waited and waited for Eve, and finally she was right before him. God will always provide what we need. I have faith in that. He knew Adam was lonely. He knew Adam needed a partner. But he made him wait. This shows that God might not provide whatever we want, but he asks us to be patient.
Patience has always been hard for me. I’ve jokingly remarked many times, “I just wasn’t given that virtue.” But God wants us to be patient with Him. He knows what we need and He will give it to us, He just asks that we trust His plan, His timeline. There’s no need to become frustrated if you aren’t getting what you want. Think about Adam waiting all of those years for a companion.
We must trust in God and remember that he will provide for our needs. Just like Adam waited and waited, God wants us to have patience with his plan, because His way will lead us to an abundant life.