Scripture Lesson: Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Meditation
Our promise today is around a subject that many of us do not get enough of; rest. I am not saying that we are super productive because most of us are always doing something. Our schedules have gotten so busy that we hardly have time for those things that we say are a priority in our lives. We are always doing something. However, that something is not always producing what we need or desire in our lives. As a result, our relationships, our health and our spiritual walk suffer.
If you ask most people how they are doing, you will get some type of response that speaks to tiredness or fatigue. These same people will tell you that, for the most part, they are not particularly happy with their lives. So they are working hard but not seeing the accomplishments they desire. For these people (many of us would count ourselves in this group) Jesus provides an intriguing invitation. Come to me all you that labor and are heavy burdened and I will get you rest. Where do we sign up?
Then He tells us something that makes us think, “Ah, I knew it was too good to be true”. He tells us to take His yoke upon us. Are you kidding me? My burdens are hard enough without taking someone else’s yoke, especially the Savior of the world. “No thanks”, we may say at first glance, “I’ll just keep what I have.”
But if we don’t understand the yoking process and take time out of our busy schedules to learn of Him, we will miss the whole thing. A yoke is a harness or instrument placed upon two oxen, causing them to plow together. If one gets weak he can be pulled by the other. Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Since we know that it is not the work that is easy and light, it must be that Jesus is pulling most of the weight. That is not the Gospel of Jesus that most of us have heard preach. Many believe that Christianity is a hard and burdensome task that will keep you down. And as a result, we have turned many people away from the faith. Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Our promise today is that Jesus will give us rest for our souls when we become yoked to Him. Remember, our soul is not our spirit. Our souls consist of our mind, intellect, and emotions. Could your mind use some rest? A rested mind learns how to work smarter, not harder. Learn of Jesus. Stop being weighed down by burdens you should not even be carrying. Find out what Jesus has already done for you by His grace.
Affirmations
I am yoked to Jesus. His strength carries my burdens and cares. I rejoice and I am grateful for the promise that I can find rest in Him.
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Loved it, was exactly what I needed to read, thank you.