A Hard Fall
The Fall’s reverberation impacted every part of our being (spirit, soul, and biology).
Adam’s spirit fell asleep (went into death), but his soul and biology kept working for almost 1,000 years. Think about that.
Beautiful Earth
Heavenly Father’s observation that all creation was “good” equates to paradise, ultimate perfection. A micro-Heaven on earth. May mankind quickly accept that Father’s ways are best.
The toil Adam received as part of the curse for disobedience fell on the soul as well as biology.
Now, instead of heavenly alignment and an abundance of pulsating life and flow came hard labor, toil, burdens, and grief.
Redemption
Jesus, the Last Adam, finished every iota of the labor to redeem all Adam lost.
Listen to Jesus’ kind invitation:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (NASB, Matthew 11:28).
The footnote in the NASB says “all who work to exhaustion.”
That’s your soul, Beloved.
A Hard Fall + Factors
Your soul bears the weight of life from the impact of The Fall. These factors join the mix.
There are generational patterns in families that are not balanced. For instance, certain nations (which emerge from families) are known to have a “higher work ethic” while others exhibit a higher “holiday” value.
Training is a factor. The process of a child’s growth emphasizes their development into independence from parents and sufficiency to complete tasks on their own. This often gets applied to the spiritual life.
Modern developed nations operate at a frenetic pace. Technology that emerged from an intent to make life easier has increased the demands and expectations on people’s time. Think back to times prior to cell phones and the Internet. A respect of business hours reigned. Now, businesses and employees are expected to be operative 24/7. The demands and expectations have also conditioned us. If we’re not on call, we often make ourselves on call by not turning off (or silencing) cell phones and social media responses for regular downtime.
Hierarchy of Needs
Your soul needs rest. This is not a want. It is a need that Jesus Himself addressed.
In Matthew 11:28. the word “labor” is kopiao in Greek (Strong’s G282). It includes the meaning, “to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil, burdens or grief).”
Heavenly Father designed your spirit to be in union with Him. From there, His life flows to your soul. When The Fall impacted (corrupted) the alignment of your spirit, soul, and biology, a heavy burden landed on your soul. Your soul became responsible for operating your life – which is a heavy burden it was not designed to shoulder.
Amazing!
Add to this fallen state generational and cultural patterns, faulty training, and frenetic modern life. . .
. . .then, rejoice!
What?!
In the face of this, you are doing amazingly well by the amazing grace of Father! His amazing grace is the cause of rejoicing!
But, there’s more goodness to receive.
Divine Exchange
That toil which the word “labor” refers to is a result of the curse. Jesus, as the Last Adam, canceled (redeemed us from) the curse. The burdens which the word “labor” refers to come from various sources. Jesus, as the Last Adam, said bring them all to Him. The griefs which the word “labor” refers to are many in this life. Jesus, as the Last Adam, specifically paid for all these on the cross (KJV, Isaiah 53:4).
All this relief and help is available from Jesus for our souls, as we simply come and rest in His presence — handing over our labor, exhaustion, toil, burdens, and griefs. He takes them, Beloved, and gives you His life. He shoulders the load.
Practice of Rest
When you first start to slow and to be still, your mind often races. Then, your biology starts signaling pain which was there but not recognized till you stopped.
Rest starts as a practice that may not seem worth it, as it may make you feel worse initially. It is not fully operational at the level you’d like when you first start.
However, the practice of rest, which includes handing over that toil, those burdens, and the now visible griefs to Christ Jesus our Lord, gives grace and space to your soul. He receives those various labors and exhaustions and gives you understanding, mercy, compassion – and rest. It’s a divine exchange.
As your soul has room to breathe and to regain trust in Father, your whole being is able to function with much more health. It just gets better from there.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Hope Streams
Featured Image by Joe from Pixabay
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