My Yoke is Easy

When your prayers have not yet been answered and you seem to have lost strength where you can’t seem to pray anymore …. and all the pressures of life have drained you. There is rest for the weary. In fact, Jesus tells us to cry out to Him.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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."

Jesus talks about a yoke in this passage. In a literal sense, the word ‘Yoke’ means a bar of wood, constructed to unite two animals (usually oxen), enabling them to work in the fields, drawing loads, pulling instruments used for farming. In the Bible, it is figuratively used as a symbol of slavery, servanthood, submission, forced subjection, a burden, a load, oppression, bondage to sin. That doesn’t sound very promising, does it? The yoke in Matthew 11: 28-30, however, is borrowed from the plowing of fields and is presented here as an aid in our spiritual struggle rather than a hindrance …. instead of something bad it is used to bring something good. Jesus knows about everything we are facing. He invites us to find relief by coming to Him and casting all our cares upon Him.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

So, what does it mean to take Christ’s yoke? To take Christ’s yoke means to submit to Him as the one who is gentle and meek, as one who is gentle and caring and concerned for us. It means to put yourself under His leading, to join yourself together with Him. In this case, when we are yoked with Jesus Christ, He bears the load, not us. And then, He tells us that, in taking up His yoke, we will find “rest for our souls”.

Maybe you are tired down to your very soul. Well, Jesus makes a promise to those who truly come to Him and take up His yoke and bear His burden. He gives them rest at the deepest level of their being they find “rest” for the soul.