We have been given two possible outcomes for following our heart’s desires. The Bible tells us that if we delight ourselves in the Lord that He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4), and so as we follow these desires we will see favorable results. The other direction that our heart’s desires can lead us is in the direction of sin, which was first demonstrated by Eve and then by Adam in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden every tree that God planted was “pleasing in appearance and good for food” (Genesis 2:9) including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which Adam was directed by God to not eat from. If the fruit on this tree was no different from the other trees in the garden (all were pleasing in appearance and good for food) what then led Eve to eat the fruit from this forbidden tree? What led Eve to sin? It was the desire that was planted in her heart.
In Genesis 3:6 it says, “then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom” (emphasis mine). Eve saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, like every tree in the garden, was good for food and pleasing in appearance. That is not what enticed her to eat the fruit from this forbidden tree. What enticed her was the serpent’s lie that eating from this tree would allow her to obtain wisdom and make her like God. That is what she found to be desirable. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was just like all of the other trees in the garden, the only difference was that God gave Adam a direct command to not eat from this tree, because on the day he ate from it he would “certainly die” (Genesis 2:17). The fruit on this tree wasn’t a poisonous fruit that would cause Adam to die if he ate it, but what would cause him to die was his disobedience to God’s command. God was teaching Adam when He gave him this directive; He was teaching about His holiness and that obedience to Him was life while disobedience would bring death.
Satan didn’t force Eve or Adam to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Through deception, Satan was able to make Eve believe that God was withholding something from her that was desirable. He planted that seed in her mind. Genesis 3:6 says “Then the woman saw…” (emphasis mine), but not just with her eyes, she saw with her heart and mind that the fruit was desirable. Her perception of the truth was altered by the serpent’s lie, and she likely started thinking in her heart and mind about what could be if she ate from this tree and became like God. At that moment her heart turned from being obedient to God to fulfilling her own desires. Her heart’s desires took control of her mind and caused her to imagine a false reality – that she would obtain wisdom and be like God if she ate from the tree. The truth, however, was that she already had wisdom and knowledge because God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). This means that before the fall, mankind was like God in every way. The only way that Adam and Eve could even gain knowledge of evil was if they themselves sinned and caused evil to enter their world. Sin came from Adam and Eve’s lack of obedience to God; it came from their own desire and from them putting themselves ahead of God.
When Eve, and then Adam, ate from the tree, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked” (Genesis 3:7, emphasis mine). The sin that caused the fall of mankind opened the eyes of mankind to know, with their hearts and minds, a reality that God never intended for mankind. The truth that Adam and Eve already had knowledge of all that was good because they walked each day with God escaped their notice in the moment of temptation. The lie that the serpent had planted led to desire, which caused Eve’s heart and mind to turn from God to self. Sin was the result.
The enemy today continues to make us doubt God’s goodness and to doubt that as Christ is, so are we in this world ( I John 4:17). He plants desires in our hearts and minds, that if acted on, will alter our perception of the truth and will draw our hearts away from God. Satan tries to make us believe that he is offering us something better than God or that God is withholding something good from us. Nothing in this world could be better than what we already have in Jesus. Adam and Eve lost their dominion in this world because they succumbed to their desires, Jesus died and was resurrected so that we again would be filled with power. Satan needs us to believe his lies, it is the only way he can have any authority over us. When we fall into Satan’s trap we give up the authority that Jesus died to give us.
According to Psalm 37:4 the only way we can truly follow our heart’s desires is if we are continually delighting ourselves in the Lord, because He gives us the desires of our hearts. The enemy will continually attempt to deceive us, but his tactics remain the same. If we remain in the truth, if we delight ourselves in the Lord, and if we believe in our hearts and minds that God is good, then we will be able to recognize the lies and deception the enemy throws our way. When faced with desire or temptation we will be able to turn to the truth and make that our only desire.
The Truth in Action: How do we know if our heart’s desires are from God? Looking at Eve as an example, her desire was self-centered. She knew that she was not to eat from the tree, she even added to God’s command when she said to the serpent that they must not eat or touch it, or they would die (Genesis 3:3). Eve’s desire made her focus on herself, and she was willing to risk her relationship with Adam, and more importantly with God, to fulfill her desire. Take time now to write out the desires you have in your heart. Ask yourself where you think those desires originate from, who do the desires serve, and how far are you willing to go to see the desires fulfilled. Answering these questions will help you determine if God has given you these desires or not.
Further Study: Read Genesis 2 and 3 about Adam and Eve in the garden and the consequences of their sin. Make a list of the consequences of their original sin and then make a list of the consequences of sin today. Compare and contrast the two.