28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Thought: What would it feel like to walk with Jesus and work with him? The words “easy” and “light” may not describe what you think it would really be like. Instead, you might think it would make you uneasy and be difficult. Christ calls us to discipleship. When we come to Him, He takes away one set of burdens—the burden of sin, the burden of guilt, the burden of separation from God, the burden of hopelessness. He also calls us to follow Him, to renounce our selfish desires, and to seek His will above all else. He calls us to “take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me.”
I recently decided I needed to start exercising and eating right. Spring is coming, vacations planned, and if I am going to wear shorts and dresses I better get serious about working out! I had been walking on the treadmill for about a week feeling pretty good with myself that I had been faithful to getting up earlier each morning and walking for thirty minutes.
Well, my son, Jacob, comes into the room one morning as I am finishing my walk, and says “is that all you’re going to do is walk.” Indignantly, I said “Yes!” He said that is not going to get you the results you want! So, the next thing I know I am lifting weights and doing squats with my son. He laughed at me because I could barely lift the 8lb dumbbells! I guess I have some work ahead of me! Jacob stood next to me in case I needed help. I learned that this is called a spotter. The spotter’s job is to stand near the lifter's head just in case the lifter “mom” gets in trouble and needs some help.
Sometimes, the spotter doesn't do anything at all. Just knowing that the spotter is there is enough to give the lifter the confidence needed to lift the weights. At other times, the spotter “Jacob” calls out words of encouragement to the lifter. "Come on mom, you can do it” are the words I hear my son call out. These words of encouragement are just what the lifter needs to give him or her the strength to lift the weights.
As more and more weights are added, the bar becomes very heavy and the lifter becomes very tired. When the weight gets to be more than the lifter can handle, the spotter reaches in and helps the lifter lift the weights. I had seen my boys do this many times for each other when they would work out.
As I was lifting the weight it occurred to me that this is the same way our Heavenly Father helps us to bear the burdens we face in our daily life. There are some days that things seem to be fairly “easy.” We may struggle a little bit as we face a few obstacles along the way, but just knowing that God is with us gives us the confidence we need to overcome those obstacles.
Then, there are some days that are more difficult and we may need more encouragement. We find that encouragement in God's Word. "I'll give you strength." (Psalm 28:7) "I'm with you in times of trouble." (Psalm 34:6) These words of encouragement are just what we need to face the hard times that may come our way.
Do you ever have a day when the weight is more than you can handle? We all have days like that, don't we? It is good to know that when things are more than we can bear, God is there! Listen to these words that Jesus spoke, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light."
On those really hard days, Jesus steps in and lifts our burden. With him, our burdens are lighter.
Prayer: Father, we are thankful that you are always there to help us, to give us strength, to encourage us, and to lighten our load. Ignite our hearts with love for You and Your ways and help us to exchange the yoke of rebellion for the yoke of submission to your Holy and loving Word. Amen.
Questions:
1. To whom are you yoked—the world or Christ?
2. What is a burden you need to let go of this week? How can you do that?
