28) Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
30) For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.
Verse 28 comes to mind every time we get our first snow of the season, and the trees are weighed down with the heavy, wet snow. It’s great snowman building snow, but it is also a tree-limb breaking, powerline snapping kind of snow. Lots to worry about. Lots to be heavy-laden or burdened with. But I know that is not what Jesus is talking about when He encourages us to come to Him. He’s talking spiritual burdens. Soul breaking weight.
How many of you have heard the song ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’? My favorite version of it is sung by the Newsboys (yea, I know, I mention them a lot, but they are such a great band. I have had the privilege of seeing them in concert twice). Okay, back on track, sorry. So in the song, this truth is stated:
“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”
On our knees
Friends, that’s the key – prayer. Humble submission to our God and Father, LORD Jesus Christ, showing reverence. Did you know we are strongest when on our knees. Now keep in mind that when you take your burdens to Him, lay them at His feet or at least ask Him for help in dealing with your burden, He may not, and generally doesn’t answer in the manner that we are accustomed to getting an answer.
In one of the heaviest burdened times in my life, Occasion #3, I asked Him “what do I do, Lord?” He didn’t give me a straight answer like I would get from my mom or a friend, what He did do is remind me who He is and more to the point, who He isn’t, and that answered my question, and I knew exactly what I needed to do.
Let me ask you this. Have you ever felt so burdened, spiritually, that it feels like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? So, when Jesus is telling us to take His yoke upon us, in verses 28 and 29, what on earth is He talking about. I mean, when we finally surrender and come to Him, we are already totally weighed down, spiritually spent, and looking for rest, and He is telling us to take on more. Whaaaaat?
Take My yoke upon you
When I was a kid, I never could understand what that meant. I would read those words and my kid brain kept picturing egg yolk. (I know, I have no idea either. It must just be a kid thing) But Jesus was not talking “yolk”, He is talking “yoke” I never noticed the difference in the spelling. It wasn’t until years later, when the most brilliant Christian woman I knew (mom) explained it to me.
If you are not familiar with it, a yoke is a wooden beam or crosspiece that is fastened over the neck of an animal, sometimes two, and then attached to the plow that the animal(s) are pulling. It was common to yoke two animals together, especially when training. When it came time for a younger ox to learn the plowing ropes, they would yoke two animals together and the older oxen would take on most of the load (burden), take the lead and guide the younger on what to do. The load the younger ox took on was much lighter, easier to handle. The younger is following the lead of the older, learning from him.
Let Him lead
So picture this with Jesus. Okay, don’t literally picture you and Him with this wooden beam across your necks, but do picture Him taking on the bulk of your burden, taking the lead and guiding you through it, teaching you how to handle it.
Go to Him, take His yoke upon you, He is gentle, humble. He will give you rest.
At those moments in our burdened time when we do feel a sense of restedness, it’s probably because at that moment He is carrying us.
I love the footprints in the sand poem and I can’t help but wonder if the whole idea came from these three verses.
If, more to the point, when we finally take on His yoke and let Him take the bulk of our burden, let Him take on the heavy lifting, that would be when He is carrying us. That is when there is only one set of footprints in the sand.
There is no other, more perfect friend than that.
So what are you weary and heavy-ladened with today? Take comfort my friend in knowing that you are not alone, you do not have to carry this all by yourself. There is no need to forfeit peace. You have a friend in Jesus!
