In the garden, God asked a question to which He already had the answer. “Where are you?” 

Why does He ask questions like this? (He does this a lot throughout the Bible, actually, and it can be a little annoying.) 

Well, He never asks for Himself. 

    He’s asks for US. 

Often, we need a pointed question to get to the heart of the matter. We need someone to push past the surface so we can ponder the state of our hearts.

As I’ve mentioned, when I get “to the heart of the matter” with clients, and IF they trust they will be MET there, they open up. They feel safe enough to explore their hearts. 

“I’m angry.”
“I’m so anxious!”
“I’m lost.”

Of course, figuring out “where you are” is only the first step. I wouldn’t be a very good therapist if I just left people “where they are.” Can you imagine if I said, “Wow. That sounds really tough. Let me know how that works out!”?

The second question I believe is important to ask is, “What are you believing?”

In the garden, Adam and Eve eventually told God where they were. “We’re hiding.” 

But why were they hiding? I think it’s because they were BELIEVING some things that made them want to run for the hills.

     “We’ve blown it. We’re naked and worthless. And when God finds us, it’s all over.”

So what about you? What are you believing when you find yourself...

     Angry...anxious...lost...terrified?

What are you believing about yourself? 

    That you’re never going to be enough?
    That you’re a failure?
    That you’ll always be alone?

What are you believing about everything else?

    That you have no control?
    That people aren’t reliable?

The truth is, our feelings are real, but they aren’t always rooted in “perfect information.”

“Where are you?” and, “What are you believing?” are very important questions to ask. But, we can’t stop there on our quest for intimacy with ourselves and others. 

You see, most of us are going through life believing a blend of truth and lies about ourselves and everything (and everyone) around us.

If we want to experience intimacy with ourselves and others, we have to be able to discern between the two. And we will explore that more next week.