850 To Dust You Shall Return, A Guided Christian Meditation on Genesis 3:16-19 with the Recenter With Christ app

The purpose of this podcast is to help you find more peace in and connect with the true source of peace, Jesus Christ.

Outline: Relaxation, Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and Visualization. You can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20 minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tense or unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to close your eyes. Guided Relaxation / Guided Meditation: Breathe and direct your thoughts to connecting with God. Let your stomach be a balloon inflate, deflate.

Scripture for Meditation

Genesis 3

ESV 16 To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." 17 And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

NASB 16 To the woman He said,

"I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall deliver children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; With hard labor you shall eat from it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

Reflection on Scripture:

The effect of the fall was not fully captured in these few verses yet there are some things that are indicated. A few consequences are pointed out. These are not even described as the way things should be, just what would happen. God was not commanding Adam to sweat or for Eve that somehow that this pain was ideal, for example. God was saying what would result in life. Equally interesting to me is the fact that there are different consequences laid out for Adam and Eve. Eve's focus on the pain of motherhood and being a wife, for Adam the difficulty of feeding himself and his family with the inevitability of pending death.

They were not commanded to not feel that pain or the threat of death. There is nothing they could do to stop the things of this world. God did want for them to understand the effects of a sinful world. In fact, this pain acts a little more than a speed bump on our path bath to the Father if we have our focus placed on His path, His way, and His life, that of Jesus Christ. Yield yourself to God's path for you. Walking the path of God is what should be considered normative, or ideal. Believe in Jesus and walk his path despite the challenges of this life. That is what Jesus asks. Although we participate with other people in life, it is God's path we need to follow.

Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we overcome the effects of sin, pain, weakness, and everything that makes this world less than heaven. Never let anything get in the way of keeping your ears open to the voice of the Spirit. Whoever has ears to hear let them hear.

Meditation of Prayer:

Pray as directed by the Spirit.

Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready ask God for understanding you desire from Him.

Meditation of God and His Glory / Hesychasm:

I invite you to sit in silence feeling patient for your own faults and trials.

Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and meditate and visualize positive change in your life:

This is a listener funded podcast at patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast

Final Question: If you consider the invitation and command to persevere in the faith, what change in your life does that bring to your mind?

FIND ME ON: Download my free app: Recenter with Christ Website - ChristianMeditationPodcast.com Voicemail - (602) 888-3795 Email: jared@christianmeditationpodcast.com Apple Podcasts - Christian Meditation Podcast Facebook.com/christianmeditationpodcast Youtube.com/christianmeditaitonpodcast Twitter - @ChristianMedPod