7/1 Strength for Today

Look at the 99,999

Genesis 2:17
“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.”

In Genesis chapter 2, God reviewed His work of creation. In the review of creation, God reminded us in verses 8-9 that He made the Garden of Eden. What is interesting about these verses is that God said in verse 9, “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food...” In other words, every tree on Earth was planted in the Garden of Eden.

It is estimated that there are over 100,000 different types of trees in the world. Yet, when we come to the verse above, God told Adam that of all the trees in the world, there was one tree from which he was not to eat and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said in verse 16, “...Of every tree of the garden thou mayest free eat:” It is interesting that it was from the one tree out of the 100,000 trees on Earth that Adam and Eve chose to eat, causing sin to enter into the world.

Many times I hear people talk about how there is so little that God allows a Christian to do. Many times you will hear people get upset with God over what He tells them not to do instead of looking at all the things God allows them to do. When Satan got Eve to take of the fruit, instead of looking at all of the trees on Earth from which they could eat, he successfully got her to focus on the one tree, as if God was trying to take the fun of life away from them,. The mistake of Adam and Eve was focusing on what they could not have instead of focusing on the plenty that God said they could have.

Many young people get upset with their parents because of the rules that they are expected to live by. They rebel against their parents because of the “one tree” they cannot have instead of looking at the 99,999 trees they can have. Many Christians do the same! We must understand that God gives us more that we can do than what we cannot do.

I ask you, what are you focusing on? If you focus on what God says you cannot do, then you are sure to get bitter and angry with God. What God allows us to do is always more than what God tells us not to do. We must also remember that what God tells us not to do is only because He wants to keep us from hurting ourselves and others around us.

Christian, stop focusing on the 1 and look at the 99,999 things that God allows you to do. As parents, do your best to show your children all that they can do. Likewise, leaders need to do their best to show their followers what they can do instead of always focusing on what they cannot do. Yes, we must teach people what they cannot do, but let’s also show them that there is more that they can do than what they cannot. You personally need to be careful not to focus on the one tree in your life and look at the 99,999 trees that you can have. Always remember, when you focus on the one you will become angry and bitter, but when you focus on the 99,999, you will see how much God and leadership loves you and you will save yourself from bitterness and heartache.