As we look back on Genesis and the past couple of months, certain themes seemed to pop up over and over. Often, when we think of Genesis, we think of children’s stories, like Noah building the ark and Joseph’s colorful coat. After studying these characters for the past 50 chapters, it becomes much more clear that this is a compilation of stories about incredibly relatable people. People we want to cheer for when they live faithfully and do what God asks them to do, yet people we often shake our heads at when they wander from God time after time after time. These people are a whole lot like us. 

The phrase playing God describes so much of what we see in Genesis. It started with Eve in the garden, and it continued throughout the book. Time and time again, we see people take matters into their own hands because they thought they either knew better than God or thought they could expedite the process of what God had told them would happen. All these years later, we do the same thing. We want to be in control. We want to play the role of God. So we start scheming and making our own plans so we can be sure we get what we want.

The good news for us is that, even in our mistakes, God remains faithful, even when we’re not. He gives second, third, and fiftieth chances. He weaves all things together for good, even when it doesn’t seem like it’s possible. That’s just what God does. 

Take some time today to look back and reflect on what you learned in Genesis.