J.A. Matteson
Most stubborn in our Adamic nature is the sublime insistence of a one to one correlation in what we do and what we achieve. "I have gotten a man child from the help of the LORD" (Gen. 4:1). That's because God set up the out-working of our redemption in such a way that His sanctifying work in us takes place as we walk by faith in Him. And because of the intimate connection between our walking and His working, the old man within can subtly seduce us into thinking that we are what we are because what we have done. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, unless the farmer sews he will not eat. However, it is by grace that his labor produces a crop and he cannot presume that just because he labors rains will follow resulting in a harvest. Apart from the work of the LORD you cannot accomplish anything. It was not the mere act of relations with her husband that resulted in a child for Eve, but God's graceful design; it is the LORD who opens and closes the womb. There is no greater sense of wonder and joy for the saint than to finally surrender the idea of personal sovereignty with respect to outcomes. It is a delightful thing in the eyes of the LORD when His child recognizes and confesses "I have gotten....from the help of the LORD." Thanksgiving is an attitude of worship precious to God.
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