The  is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 

Psalm 145:9

耶和华善待万民，祂的慈悲覆庇祂一切所造的。
–诗篇145篇9节

He said to the woman, “Did God really say . . . ?” 

Genesis 3:1

蛇对女人说：「上帝岂是真说……？」

-创世记3章1节

“I don’t think God is good,” my friend told me. She had been praying for years about some difficult issues, but nothing had improved. Her anger and bitterness over God’s silence grew. Knowing her well, I sensed that deep down she believed God is good, but the continual pain in her heart and God’s seeming lack of interest caused her to doubt. It was easier for her to get angry than to bear the sadness.

一位好友对我说：「我不觉得上帝是美善的！」多年来，她一直在为一些棘手的事祷告，但是情况却没有改善。面对上帝的沉默，她的愤怒和苦毒越来越深。我了解她，知道她内心深处其实相信上帝的美善。但是长年累积的痛苦，而且上帝看似漠不关心，使她的信心动摇了。毕竟，愤怒总是比忍耐受痛苦更容易。

Doubting God’s goodness is as old as Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). The serpent put that thought in Eve’s mind when he suggested that God was withholding the fruit from her because “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (v. 5). In pride, Adam and Eve thought they, rather than God, should determine what was good for them.

其实在亚当和夏娃的时代，人们就开始质疑上帝的美善（创世记3章） 。蛇把这样的疑惑放进夏娃的心中，告诉她上帝不许他们吃那果子，是因为「上帝知道，你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你们便如上帝能知道善恶」（5节） 。因为骄傲，亚当和夏娃认为他们应该自己来决定好与坏，而不是由上帝来定夺。

Years after losing a daughter in death, James Bryan Smith found he was able to affirm God’s goodness. In his book The Good and Beautiful God, Smith wrote, "God's goodness is not something I get to decide upon. I am a human being with limited understanding." Smith’s amazing comment isn’t na?ve; it arises out of years of processing his grief and seeking God’s heart.

美国同济大学院牧司杰恩（James Bryan Smith）在失去女儿多年之后，最终再度确信上帝是美善的。在《上帝的美丽》（The Good and Beautiful God）一书中，作者司杰恩写道：「上帝的美善，不是由我来评定的，我只是一个认知能力有限的人。」司杰恩的这番话并非幼稚无知，而是多年来咀嚼悲伤，潜心寻求上帝的心意，才体会到的心得。

In times of discouragement, let’s listen well to each other and help each other see the truth that God is good.

在沮丧消沉的时候，让我们静下心来彼此聆听，帮助彼此看见上帝的美善。

Lord, we will praise You in our difficult times 

like the psalmist did. 

You know us, and we turn to You 

because we know You are good.

主啊，在急难困乏中，

愿我们像诗人一样赞美祢。
祢认识我们，我们深知祢的美善，

甚愿转向祢。

Read:Genesis 3:1-8 New International Version (NIV)

The Fall

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals theLord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from theLord God among the trees of the garden.

创世记 3:1-8

始祖被诱惑

3 耶和华神所造的，唯有蛇比田野一切的活物更狡猾。蛇对女人说：“神岂是真说，不许你们吃园中所有树上的果子吗？” 2 女人对蛇说：“园中树上的果子我们可以吃，3 唯有园当中那棵树上的果子，神曾说：‘你们不可吃，也不可摸，免得你们死。’”4 蛇对女人说：“你们不一定死！ 5 因为神知道你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮了，你们便如神能知道善恶。”

违背主命

6 于是女人见那棵树的果子好做食物，也悦人的眼目，且是可喜爱的，能使人有智慧，就摘下果子来吃了；又给她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。 7 他们二人的眼睛就明亮了，才知道自己是赤身露体，便拿无花果树的叶子，为自己编做裙子。 8 天起了凉风，耶和华神在园中行走，那人和他妻子听见神的声音，就藏在园里的树木中，躲避耶和华神的面。

整理：于姊妹