Who Said "Do it Alone"? Part II

One of the first things God established about people is that we are not at our best when we’re alone. In fact, it’s so important that God made a special point of it very shortly after creating Adam.

Now the LORD God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] suitable and complementary for him.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:18‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I’ve always viewed this passage strictly from a marriage perspective, but God’s been showing me that it applies to our relationships as a whole. You see, God always works from a plan and He does not make mistakes. He didn’t plan to make Adam and then create Eve as an afterthought because he suddenly panicked at the discovery, “Oh no! Adam is no good all alone!” No, He carefully sculpted every part of Adam and designed him specifically in his own image. God’s plans don’t have gaps and He doesn’t overlook details. He is meticulous with layers and details beyond what we are capable of even understanding. With that in mind, we can safely assume that God purposefully designed Adam, and all of mankind, to function better together. I believe He spent individual time with Adam first, before creating Eve, as a mirror of His instruction that our personal relationship with Him always comes first:

“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:37-39‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Our relationship with Him is the foundation on which everything else we do is built. We are incapable of fulfilling the the second greatest commandment, if we don’t first love and grow in Him as instructed.

Adam’s relationship with God was the first human relationship. God could have created Adam and Eve simultaneously. I mean, it was His plan, His creations, after all. But, every step of creation was intentional and layered with vision and purpose. He chose to create them individually, to portray the priority of individual relationship with Him, to establish the importance of our relationships with each other, and to define each with individually created purpose. I’m sure there’s so many layers I’ve yet to uncover, but those are the three God has been showing me recently, and let me tell you, it’s got me FIRED UP!!

To understand relationships and Gods purpose within them, I’ve been breaking down these first two human relationships and how God created them both. Genesis has come alive to me in a way I’ve never seen before and God’s been blowing my mind with revelation about relationships! The creation of Adam is the origin story of relationships and is loaded with revelation of God’s plan for us.

1. God created the earth first. The earth was literally full of provision for everything Adam would ever need, all before he was even created.

This speaks volumes to me about God’s provision. I won’t go deep into that now, but it’s a great reminder to me how futile it is for me to stress about any type of provision. If my Father had the forethought to create an entire universe (spectacular in itself) and within it provided anything we would ever need, how can I even begin to doubt that he’s also provided the answer to whatever I’m facing today. I’m certainly not arrogant enough to believe that I thought of something He didn’t, but sometimes we allow anxiety to say just that.

[For a deeper dive into what God has shown me about his provision through the rivers flowing out of the Garden, go check out this post: “The 4 Rivers”. 🤯 ]

2. God created purpose for man, before He brought Adam into the world.

Gen. 2:5 “before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, as there was no man to till the ground;”‬ [...YET!]‬

Gen. 2:15 “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.”

God spent time with Adam, shared his purpose with Him, and established that personal relationship with him, before He introduced Eve. Adam was already active in his purpose, by naming all the animals (ruling over the animals was part of his purpose found in Gen. 1:26), before Eve was created. This isn’t something I had ever paid attention to previously. Too often I’ve watched people put their God-given dreams on hold while in pursuit of a man or woman. While I whole-heartedly agree that God brings two people together, as man and wife, to accomplish great things together, I also don’t believe he wastes any season of life. Whatever season you are in now, there is work to be done, your purpose isn’t paused! When the right person comes along, also in pursuit of purpose, you’ll find how perfectly your pursuits align and together you’ll dream bigger dreams and make waves for the kingdom together. As God stirs those visions within your relationship and you begin to reach milestones within that purpose, he’ll birth even bigger dreams between you and it’s a lifetime of adventure and growing both individually and together in your relationship with the Father. It’s the best love-story ever imagined to be fulfilling God-given purpose together!

3. God brought every animal to Adam, for him to name (Gen. 2:19)

What I found interesting here is that God stated in verse 18 that it wasn’t “good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Immediately after stating this, God brought every animal before Adam for him to name, before creating Eve. Only after stating that “no suitable helper was found” (v20), did God cause Adam to fall asleep and He created Eve from his side. Now, the fact that there was no suitable helper found, couldn’t have surprised God, remember, this is all HIS plan. God intentionally walked Adam through the process, showing him that there was nothing on earth suitable to him. Each animal had purpose, but their purpose wasn’t to rule the earth like Adam’s. He needed a help-meet, someone with similar purpose and vision to partner with him. When God created Eve, Adam treasured her because he knew her value, he knew she was created from him, they were bound by the bond of one flesh. Eve was unlike anything else he’d ever seen and she wasn’t just another creature to subjugate, she was a partner to cherish.

Here's a valuable little nugget hidden in these verses: there's a lot of great purposes within the Kingdom, but just because their purpose is good, doesn't mean it's meant to be married to yours, and that's okay! Adam had every animal God created brought before him to name and he saw each creation's purpose. Every single one had a great purpose, but there were none that were suitable to be a partner in Adam's God-given purpose. Your God-given purpose will work along-side many others, as they should, but there's a special, seamless fit between the purposes of two people that God brings together for marriage. Somebody needed that little bonus nugget for free, so there you go!

4. God gave Adam & Eve choice, free will, because love is gentle, not forceful.

Gen. 2:16-17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

Ah, the tree! It’s so easy to look at this tree with contempt or disdain, I know I did for the longest time. When I was younger I thought of the tree as an evil trap, but as I began to mature in my understanding of God, I knew that didn’t fit his nature. The God I know wouldn't create a trap, he doesn't need trickery or deceit. So, what was His purpose in creating it? It wasn’t until I head someone describe it as an expression of God’s love and respect for us, that I began to understand. You see, He’s a gentleman who’s desire is a relationship with us, not dominance or force. He could have created us without choice, without free-will, but that’s not love. Sure, his perfect will would be that we never experience sin or pain, but even when we do, when we choose another way, the ability to choose Jesus always remains. He is faithful, patient and always ready and willing to welcome you. It’s the one relationship that will never let you down.

There’s a few things so far that I think are super important to recap. First of all, God could have chosen to create Adam and Eve at the same time, but there’s significance to the fact that He created just Adam first. The most important relationship in our life is our relationship with Jesus. That relationship is personal, He loves us individually, and it’s crucial that this relationship is solidified and above any other relationship in our life. He has provided for us, given us personal vision and purpose, all before we were even created, which means it was long before any other relationship we’ve formed. Our relationship with Him is paramount, above absolutely anything or anyone else in our life. When that relationship is flourishing and prioritized, every other relationship reaps the benefits. But God gave us choice, He is not forceful. This order is for our benefit, and when we choose to get it out of order, chaos is soon to follow, because your foundation is weakened. His way is better!