Do you know why God sometimes keeps us away from some things? Genesis 1-3

Genesis 3:22-24 (NASBStr)

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Adam and Eve had failed to heed God's warning to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.   They failed to obey and the consequences were grave.  Through their disobedience they introduced "death" to creation.   God had warned them and they followed the flesh instead of believing God's word in faith.   They failed to follow by faith and therefore passed death onto all.  God introduced to them the penalty of death for the future and the immediate banishment from the garden.   But, this is were we see God's grace.   Not only was there a tree in the garden that they couldn't eat (the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil), but there was also a tree call the Tree of Life.   Eating from the Tree of Life would allow them to live forever in the state they were currently in: Sin!   Since they disobeyed God and were now "in sin" and had the condemnation of death hanging over them, if they were to eat from the Tree of Life they would be forever locked into death.   God wanted to give them, and all man-kind, the opportunity to receive His grace, even after their disobedience.  That would mean keeping them away from the Tree of Life.     God's grace was to keep them from the Tree of Life.    Sometimes God keeps things from us in His grace so we are not harmed by them.   Adam and Eve may have felt ashamed and disappointed being forced to leave the Garden of Eden.   Yet, the truth of the matter is, that, in doing so, God was being gracious.  He could have allowed them to eat of the tree of life and sealed their death.  We don't think about the things God keeps us from in His grace.  He wants us to know that grace, regardless if it is because He is giving us something or taking something away.   Technically it is God grace when we get something we don't deserve and God's mercy when He withholds something from us we do deserve.   In this situation God's mercy was to not kill them instantly.   In His grace He kept the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden from them.   The next time we have something we want and we think God has denied us, think about this truth: In God's grace He keeps us from things that we might want but He knows will harm us.