Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Genesis 3:7

And the eyes of them both were opened,…. Not of their bodies, but of their minds; not so as to have an advanced knowledge of things pleasant, profitable, and useful, as was promised and expected, but of things very disagreeable and distressing. Their eyes were opened to see that they had been deceived by the serpent, that they had broke the commandment of God, and incurred the displeasure of their Creator and kind benefactor, and had brought ruin and destruction upon themselves; they saw what blessings and privileges they had lost, communion with God, the dominion of the creatures, the purity and holiness of their nature, and what miseries they had involved themselves and their posterity in; how exposed they were to the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and to eternal death:

The desire to become independent and self-made is rooted in pride and insecurity. The flesh desires to receive praise and “prove itself” when, in all reality, we could not have succeeded in anything if God had not let us continue to breathe. Being independent is unattainable because you’re always depending on something: water to hydrate you, food to nourish you, and God to keep everything in the universe from spontaneously combusting. Therefore, we realize it’s not about being independent—we were created to be dependent.

From our first family, Adam and Eve, dependence on God began—until, of course, they thought they knew better than God and wanted to become “independent.” This desire ultimately led them to eat the forbidden fruit. Look how well that turned out for them and look at the sin and brokenness we have in our world and still experience as a result of their pride—thinking they knew better than God. So now that you know that you’re always dependent, what matters is who and what you depend on.

Suddenly their eyes were opened to a reality previously unknown. For the first time, they sensed their vulnerability and rushed to hide their naked bodies, stitching fig leaves into crude loincloths.

Genesis 3:7 Voice

Those who depend on the things of this world, in anything but in Christ, are like a person who builds the foundation of their house on sand. Whereas those who depend on Christ, relying on His Word and presence to sustain them, are like someone who builds the foundation of their house on the rock. When the storms come, the foundations are tested. The house built on rock will stand, while the house built on sand will crumble.

When the storms of life come, your foundation will be tested. Are you depending on the Rock—Christ—to be your firm foundation? Or are you depending on the sand of the world? The storms of life will still come regardless of what you choose. However, your decision determines if you’ll stand through the storm or fall apart.

You must come to the full realization that you can do absolutely nothing without Christ. You must become free from the idea that you can be independent and do anything independently. You may think you can, but it’s not true. You cannot do or understand anything without God.

So, when you do something honorable in man’s eyes, give God the deserved glory because it’s really Christ working within you. Let’s get to where we realize that we are nothing, and He is everything. We are sons and daughters; He is Our Father, and we live to bring Him glory.