Summer of Depth Devotional Day 4

Welcome to day 4 of our Summer of Depth Devotional and Reading Plan. Would you slow down and go deep with God right now? Whether you’re just waking up and getting around, you’re squeezing in a quick lunch break, or you’re rounding out your evening, take this time to pause, reflect, and pray, truly delighting in the presence of God.

The truth is, He delights in spending time with you too. Will you walk with him and talk with him right now?

Before anything else, slow down and read: Genesis 3:1-13

When you’re ready, continue with this devotional:

After the first sin of all time, God comes walking in the garden. Not sprinting. Not exploding onto the scene. Take a look back at the text in verse 8:

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Walking.

This doesn’t mean that sin is small or something that God minimized. It means that, no matter the circumstance, even life-altering ones, ones where the world gets flipped upside down, God is not frantic. Look at his surprising response. His first words are not a lecture but a question: Where are you? God already knows the answer, but the question invites Adam and Eve out of hiding. It gives them a chance to name the truth.

This is one of the great mercies of God. He does not heal what we keep hidden, and he does not force love from people who refuse to step into honesty. So instead, he comes near, slowly and steadily, and asks questions that slow us down enough to tell the truth.

So consider asking this today: Are you hurrying your way into hiding? When we move too fast, we miss the opportunities to be honest about what we’re going through. And when we come face to face with truth, we hide behind feelings of regret, fear, shame, grief, and even conviction. But God still walks toward us, not to condemn us, but to bring us back into the light. Are you ready to walk with him in the light?

Pause and Pray: “God, show me where I am hiding, and give me courage to walk into the light with you.”

Amen.