Walking With God in the Cool of the Day
“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” Genesis 3:8a
Although I have only had a garden of my own for a few years, I can’t remember a time in my childhood without some kind of garden in my family’s yard. I used to go outside on summer evening and play or talk to my mom while she watered. To this day, I love the scent of damp earth and growing things that seems to fit so well with the cool of the day.
We are not told in Scripture whether the Lord walked with Adam and Eve every day, but their reaction makes me think He might have. They were concerned with their appearance before Him, rather than the fact that He was there, and they seem to have put some forethought into fixing their newfound problem before meeting with the Lord. This makes me think He walked with them regularly, perhaps daily even, in the cool of the day.
Whether I water my garden in the morning or evening, there is something peaceful and calm about the coolness that precedes or follows the heat of a warm day. Perhaps that is why God chose that specific time to meet with Adam and Eve. For me, that sense of peace and calmness, the soft light and quiet stillness, punctuated by gentle bird calls and distant chatter of squirrels, helps me to be quiet and calm, and makes it easier to do as Psalm 46:10 says:
“Be still and know that I am God.”
There is something to be said for meeting with God in those moments of natural stillness, when creation’s silent song of praise sweetly, humbly washes over us.
We can, of course (and should) pray to God at any time, and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 bluntly commands us to “Pray without ceasing.” But I know for myself the sweetest, most significant times I’ve spent with the Lord have been in “the cool of the day.”
Whether kneeling by a window in the early light of dawn, or praying at a picnic bench before breakfast at church family camp, or simply those moments spent soaking up the beauty of God’s creation while meditating on His Word in the fading light of a summer day, the most significant milestones of my walk with God have happened in those moments when the external quiet of nature prompts my heart and soul to slow down and take time to actually converse with my Heavenly Father.
In the winter months, “the cool of the day” often means a cup of tea or coffee and a blanket, reveling in the warmth of the indoors while listening to the music of rain pattering against the windows. This, too, is a reminder to stop and thank the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3) for this moment of comfort is from Him, too.
Dear Reader, as we enter into the summer season, may you and I heed the call of creation and join the Lord, “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8)
When you find yourself awake in the early morning, or watching the sun begin its descent into the horizon, let the rhythms of day and night, morning and evening beckon you to worship and fellowship with your God.
“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.” Psalm 55:17