And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. -Genesis 2:19
Eight years is a long time for a single assignment, but I can say today that I’ve seen it through to full completion. What began as an innocent conversation during a road trip with my wife more than eight years ago has resulted in an 800+ mile relocation, a totally new career path, brand new relationships, community raised from the ground up, some of the hardest work I’ve ever performed in my life, and some very significant changes in our family. Jenny and I have experienced the most challenging season of our marriage to date during this process, we had another baby (a surprise home birth), and Caleb has grown from a toddler into a fine young man.
Genesis 2:19 was the very first Bible verse that the Holy Spirit spoke to me at the inception of this wild adventure. If you aren’t familiar with my history and philosophy of hearing the voice of God, I have a couple blogs (here and here) along with a short book that explain the importance and mechanics of living a life sensitive to and guided by the Creator of the universe. It’s pretty wild, when you think about it. That the Person who literally spoke and exploded the universe into existence would not only be accessible, but loving and kind enough to be personally interested in our daily affairs is such a tremendous yet surprising reality that many people (most, perhaps) miss out on the simplicity and beauty of the possibility of hearing from God regularly. Yet we are created to be in continual, close, and intimate relationship with the God of the Bible.
I had initially struggled with the idea that God was actually speaking to me about going back to school for something other than vocational ministry. I have to admit, eight years ago I had a hard time believing that fulfilling my purpose in life could ever be attained by anything remotely ‘secular’ or non-Christian. So this idea of going back to school and obtaining degrees in aerospace engineering seemed one part selfish, another part presumptuous, and the rest delusional. I had never really known any person involved in an industry outside of vocational church ministry who made a significant impact in the Kingdom of God, and I kind of assumed those things were off-limits to the person who was fully sold-out to the Lord, as I had become. I know, it’s ridiculous. But that is really where I was. Maybe someone reading this feels the same way I once did. If that is you, I encourage you to study the kinds of people God used throughout history to change the world, and how He got it done. The best way to truly reach a world with the love and goodness of Jesus, it seems, is to infiltrate it from every possible angle. And this includes sending people who are full of the love of God, the passion of the Spirit, and the Gospel of Jesus with power into every sphere of the world system. But it took me a while to figure this out. I was quite a mess back then, to be frank.
THEN GOD. That should be a title of a book. That basically sums up my entire life experience. I make a mess of things, THEN GOD. I get on track and after a while get all puffed up, THEN GOD. I mess up again, THEN GOD. The list goes on. The pattern basically repeats. But the way He manifests Himself is so beautiful, colorful and multifaceted that every revelation of the Lord seems more magnificant than the last one; more transformational; more glorious. And so it was with this one.
Genesis 2:19 gives the blueprint for the simple yet perplexing question humans have been asking for millenia: Why am I here? The cool thing is, God gives us the answer in His Word; and not just in this one passage, but He has clearly outlined His plan for all of humanity all throughout the Bible! But today I am going to just go through this one passage since it is the one He spoke to me over eight years ago, and this passage is the one that has sustained, encouraged, and empowered me through many hard times.
There is so much to say on this (I have been meditating and studying this verse out for over eight years), but I want to boil it down to the following four actions God took with Adam, which I believe are the same four actions He still takes with all men and women today. We can think of these as “keys” in understanding how we can fulfill our life’s purpose.
- God provided the raw material for Adam to work with (the animals for him to name and his intelligence and ability to name them all–can you imagine the intellect required for this job?)
- God put Adam in a position to work with the raw material He created (He gave Adam the opportunity)
- (This one just blows my mind) God watched Adam to see what he would do with what God gave him
- God supported and stood by Adam’s decisions
1. God is the Author of All the Raw Material
The first thing we see in Genesis 2:19 is that God provided the raw material for Adam to work with completely independent of Adam’s involvement or input.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air…
God didn’t have to do any of this, but He did it of His own accord. This is a glimpse into the very nature of God Himself! God is a creator! He is a builder! A provider! These are not isolated themes drawn from Genesis 2:19; these are personality traits we see sprinkled liberally all throughout His Word. God is an initiator; we are the ones who respond to His initiation. The ultimate Man!
So we see here that without God providing the raw material, Adam would have had nothing to work with. The first thing we need to understand about finding, following, and fulfilling our purpose in life is that God is the Author of all the raw material you will ever need to accomplish your purpose. If understood, this point will help you relax, stop stressing about everything, and realize that God has set you up for success. If you are failing, it is not because God has set you up for failure. God has provided everything you and I could ever want, need, and imagine to fulfill our callings in life. Another word for this is grace.
2. God Gives us Every Opportunity to Succeed in Our Callings
This is just awesome. God doesn’t just spin up the world and fold His arms and watch us struggle (He totally could have, and we would not have any right to question this!). Thank God He is better than that to us! But here we see God setting Adam up with everything he needs to complete his God-given calling:
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam…
God put Adam in the ideal position to work with the raw material He had already provided. He gave Adam every opportunity to succeed. Don’t be fooled into thinking that God goes out of His way to make life hard on you; religious culture seems to thrive on this idea. I have heard many people who have been deceived by this claim to be in the middle of God’s will for their lives as they suffer from sickness, depression, and brokenness–all brought on them by their heavenly Father Who loves them so much He brings disaster after disaster on them to purify them and build their character. The truth is, the devil is the one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy; but God is the One who comes on the scene to bring the fullest version of life you could possibly imagine:
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). -John 10:10 AMPC
There are many, many more scriptures besides John 10:10 that elevate the goodness and kindness of God, along with His desire for His children to walk in blessing and wholeness, but I will leave those to you as a side reading if you are interested. For now, I want you to notice that God is not the author of confusion for Adam, but He is the source of provision, purpose, and opportunity. God set Adam up with the raw materials needed and the ideal opportunity to fully utilize his unique giftings and abilities–the very things God equipped Adam with for the task at hand. Today, God is in the same business. He has equipped and organized the raw material all around you so that you have everything you need to take the next step in your walk with Him as you step out in faith to complete your life’s assignment.
3. God Wanted to See What Adam Would Do with What He Gave Him
This is the thing that stood out to me about Genesis 2:19 above every other verse, concept, or teaching in the entire Bible: that God wanted to sit back and watch Adam, to ‘see what he would call them.’
…and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them…
Think of it. What possible reason is there for God to “see what [Adam] would call them”? Why didn’t God just name the animals? He created them, after all–and He could come up with the best names better than anyone else could.
In the Hebrew text, this word “to see” is the word rā’â, and it literally means:
- to see, have vision
- to look at, see, regard, look after, see after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out
- to see, observe, consider, look at, give attention to, discern, distinguish
- to look at, gaze at
Did you catch that? God brought the animals to Adam to learn about, observe, watch, consider, and gaze at what Adam would do with the resources God brought to him. In other words, although God could have done the job Himself, He preferred to have Adam, His prized creation, do the work of his own accord, utilizing his own special gifting and ability, to fulfill God’s plan for his life. There is an element of God learning, finding out, and gazing that seem to describe the way a father watches his son learn to build something in the father’s workshop, utilizing skills he learned from his dad.
As a parent of young boys, there is always a fine line between doing chores right (which means I do everything) and teaching the boys responsibility and discipline (which means they do it partially, poorly, or otherwise not up to my standard of perfection). If the point is to get the dishwasher unloaded and the dishes put away in the fastest, most efficient, and most logical manner, I’m the best person for the job. But if the point is to raise up responsible young men through participating in household chores and family responsibilities, the best method is to include my boys in work at a young age. Sure, they go painfully slow and chip a few dishes. But sometimes I like to sit and watch them as they work on even the simplest tasks that are new to them. When they are at their best, you can see their little gears turning and their desire to do something well is a beautiful thing to behold. Caleb sticks out his tongue slightly when concentrating hard, like his father (and his grandfather and great-grandfather!). Joel stares intensely at the toy box he is supposed to fill (either that or he is filling his diaper). But either way, watching my sons willingly work with their hands as they grow in responsibility and character is one of the most rewarding aspects of daddyhood. Caleb is now old enough to work in the garage with an increasing number of my tools–it’s the same thing, but much better than the dishwasher. There is a part of fatherhood that can only be filled by watching your children do something with what you have given them. I think we get that from our Heavenly Father.
But I don’t think God is just after our service or our character growth only. From the Hebrew word used here, there is an element of wonder, awe, and curiosity that God has as He watched Adam work. God was not only raising up a hard worker, but a lover. God was intrigued; excited, and impressed by what He saw. There is an element here of a divine love-relationship between the Creator and the created. God desires partnership with us in fulfilling His plans in the earth, yes; but He also desires to simply enjoy our creativity in the same way a mother reacts with curiosity, wonder, and affection to a hand-made card from her toddler. Is the picture going to make it into an art museum? Of course not. But that little hand-made picture with “I loV U mOMy” scrawled across the top is worth more to that mother than the most priceless and famous painting.
In the same way, God has given you and me gifts, talents, and abilities. Oftentimes these grace gifts seem to lead us to a desire to accomplish what we and others around us deem impossible. Usually these intrinsic gifts are buried deep within our souls, yet when a small spark ignites them it catches us off-guard when we least expect it. There are certain things that each one of us is magnetically attracted to, be it art, engineering, gardening, mothering, flying, music, or something else that doesn’t seem tremendously spiritual. However, God may have put that passion inside you. If so, it deserves attention. Don’t let your God-given gifts and abilities collect dust while you spend your energy on a sub-par or average life.
4. God Stood by Adam’s Work
I often think about what certain animals could have been called. What if Adam decided to call a deer a lampshade or a pickle instead? We would have no knowledge otherwise, and we would think the name deer for a four-footed forest animal would be laughable (a title more suited for home furnishings or fermented vegetables instead, of course). But even if Adam gave names to the animals that made God chuckle (think of it!), notice what God did about it:
…and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.
God stood by Adam’s decision to the end. “That was the name thereof.” Period. God didn’t say to Adam, “Now, are you really sure about this turtle business? Or were you thinking clearly when you named this beautiful creature a peacock?” No, God stood by Adam’s work. He respected his results. God is still in the respecting business today.
Sometimes we wish God would overstep His self-imposed boundaries and just shout at us when we are going down the wrong path, ignoring His voice, and shoving His wisdom aside. But oftentimes God is respecting our wishes and our decisions. This is not to say He doesn’t reach out and save us when we get into trouble, but He also isn’t combating our every wrong move with megaphone-level instructions. In other words, when we push Him away through relational neglect or outright disobedience, He will honor our request. There was a period of time that I knowingly kept my relationship with God at arm’s length. During that period of time God was pursuing me relentlessly, but I received little to no personal revelation of Him and my life was an absolute mess. God’s will for my life is never poverty, sickness, depression, or lack of any kind, but when I chose to walk separate from Him, that is exactly what I experienced.
On the other hand, when we choose to take a job or move or marry the wrong person or make some other major decision in life that ultimately is a bad plan, God still stands by our decision. He doesn’t swoop in to save the day every time we take action. He has given us free moral agency, we are not robots; we are creative beings like He is. We were made in His image, and therefore we possess the same intrinsic ability to speak, create, and design that our Father has. When we create our lives by our beliefs, words, and actions, God stands by our work and does not interfere (at least not like a bull in a china shop).
The point here is that God will stand by what you do (or don’t do) with the gifts, talents, and abilities that He created you to use for a specific godly purpose. This is a sobering thought. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10) and give an account for what we did with the resources given to us. Notice how Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 3:10 and following:
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Jesus is to be the Foundation of our lives. With Him as the center of our lives–the bedrock, the place upon which everything else in our lives rests–then we may begin to build according to our varying gifts and abilities. The gold, silver, and precious stones mentioned here represent works that last the test of time and the trials of fire. These are works that are established by growing in and mastering the unique things that God has given us–the raw materials, as it were. Building a life of wood, hay, and stubble is, unfortunately, very commonplace and is even praised in our culture. In other words, a life that is built on passing fads, monetary gain for the sake of riches, hedonism, and the like are all sure-fire ways to set yourself up for a fireworks show at the end of your life, with your works as the fuel. And while God will, by His Holy Spirit and godly people around you, attempt to get your attention and get you back on track to building a life with gold, silver, and precious stones, He will ultimately stand by and respect your decisions.
Takeaways
The bottom line here for us is to learn how to align the gifts, passions, and attributes that are uniquely ours with God’s specific plan for our lives. This takes self-reflection, intimacy with God, and a lot of time reading and meditating the Word of God. If you aren’t sure where to start, I recommend you start with your Bible reading time. Get into a solid, unbreakable habit of being immersed in God’s Word every single day of your life. Then work on your intimacy with Him. Spend time with godly people around you who know how to pray, and see consistent answers to their prayers. Get around people who dare to believe God to a point of action (another word for that is faith). Immerse yourself in a godly local church who is preaching and acting on the Bible and who are active in missions work. All the while, take a look at your own passions, attributes, and unique giftings. It took a while for me to figure out what God really put inside me. It took a lot of money, heartache, and time. But you don’t have to learn the way I did… you can do it better! Listen to godly people around you who have a history of hearing from God and following His Word; they know stuff.
I pray this encourages you to take the limits off of God. He provided everything you and I could ever need through His wonderful grace. He is continually setting us up with the opportunity to walk in His plan, and He genuinely is interested in seeing what you and I will do with what He has given us. Remember, God will stand by and support whatever decision we make when utilizing (or not utilizing) the unique giftings He has created us with. Use your resources wisely! Spend your time and energy finding, following, and fulfilling God’s special purpose in your life! You will never experience a more adventurous, fulfilling, extraordinary, supernatural, and blessed life than when you are standing right in the middle of God’s perfect will for your life. Bless the Lord, He is so faithful and good!