Matthew 11:28-30 KJV – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
With every fresh new year, it is natural to desire better things, especially when the past has been filled with pressure. It is to the confused, heartbroken, weary, and exhausted that Jesus’ promise of rest sounds sweetest of all. To them, Jesus bids, “Come to Me.”
Jesus makes our burdens easier and lighter because His yoke helps us bear-up under their weight.
When Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My is burden light,” what did He mean? In biblical times, oxen were yoked together to share the load as they plowed. Wooden yokes were carefully carved to ensure proper fit and weight distribution. Likewise, Jesus crafts the life burdens He lays upon us, but taking up His yoke guarantees that we will never carry them alone. Jesus makes our burdens easier and lighter because His yoke helps us bear-up under their weight.
Jesus’ yoke was obedience to the Father’s will. Rest comes to us in the same way it came to Jesus while on earth, through submission to the Father. But trouble enters our souls when we don’t know our heavenly Father’s will or resist it outright. Get close to Jesus and walk in the Father’s will. There will be little rest for those who refuse submission and obedience amidst difficulties. “But it is hard,” you may argue, and sometimes that is true. It is in those times we must cry out, “Teach me to do Your will.” (Psalm 143:10)
Are you in need of rest today? Jesus is your burden bearer. Come to Him. And once there, determine to wear the yoke He has tailor-made for you.
Awaiting His return,
– Pastor Jack
