Matthew___11

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all you 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

 

Observation

Jesus has just finished speaking to a crowd of people about John the Baptist, and He even goes on to somewhat “call out” certain towns that have not yet repented. He then goes on to say that anyone who comes to the Father must know the Son, yet He reassures those people that his “yoke easy and his burden is light.”

 

Understanding

In the past when I have read these verse I tended to only focus on the one that promises rest for a tired and weary soul. The other verses seemed like added “work” and I didn’t understand how they applied to rest. Upon research I discovered that a “yoke” is a tool that is used in farming to join two animals so that the workload becomes equal and shared. Ironically I used to ignore these verses… which seems to be pretty indicative of how I view God trying to “yoke” me. Here’s what I mean while I thought I was busy toiling with my land, God longed to partner alongside me to make my burden less. However, in my stubbornness I haven’t always taken the time to stop and accept the help. Quite honestly I think other people can relate to this to. Rather than taking the time to understand what taking a yoke from someone is, we would rather just do our own thing when there is a way better (and more efficient) way.

The bottom line: God longs to partner with us in order to make our burdens light.

Jesus even says in these verse “I am gentle and humble in heart,” meaning that if it seems like He’s giving us more than we can handle it’s because He’s going to put in the work with us. He’s not going to strand us on our land toiling with no progress. God desires to see growth just was much as we desire to see it too. We have to be willing to let Him in though.

 

Life Application

Take a rest! You don’t have to keep on toiling by yourself. Where do you see areas that you haven’t let God “yoke" you? Take some time to listen and allow God to reveal the places that He longs to work alongside you. I promise it will provide rest that you thought would never come. Let’s choose to partner with God!

-Allison Khan