by Gloria Copeland
God’s Victory Plan ALL THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, GOD HAS ONLY ASKED ONE THING OF HIS PEOPLE: THAT WE HEAR AND DO WHAT HE SAYS. HEAR AND DO. AS SIMPLE AS THOSE TWO WORDS MAY SOUND, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THEY REALLY DO SUM UP GOD’S VICTORY PLAN FOR US.
In one way or another, He said it time and again in the Scriptures: “Listen to My Word and obey it…and you’ll be blessed.” Think, for example, about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God blessed them and then gave them a command: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God didn’t say that to deprive Adam and Eve of something good and put them into bondage. Quite the opposite. He said it so they could remain free and continue to enjoy everything He’d provided for them in Eden. They had an absolutely wonderful life there! Blessed beyond measure, they had a perfect place to live filled with an abundance of everything good. All their needs were met. They had peace, were clothed in the glory of God, walked in unbroken fellowship with Him, and had dominion over the whole earth. God’s will for them was to live like that forever! They could
have, too, if they’d just listened to and done what God said. But they didn’t. They chose to do things their own way and eat from the forbidden tree. What happened? Exactly what God said would happen. They died spiritually, and ultimately died physically, as well, as a result of their sin. It was a great tragedy, and it wasn’t what God wanted for them. But He’d given them a free will and He allowed them to use it. He didn’t intervene when He saw they were about to disobey Him. He didn’t come slap the fruit out of their hand and say, “Remember what I told you?” No, He let them make their choice, and when they did, He kept His word. That’s the way God has always operated with His people. He operates by promise. He tells you what will happen if
