The Blessing of His Yoke

My yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

This verse is part of Jesus’ lovely invitation to all those who are weary and heavy laden to come to Him for rest. Our Lord made it very clear that He was not speaking of physical burdens, but the heavy burden of the Pharisaical system of works righteousness – trying to get saved through rule-keeping rather than a right relationship with Jesus. The bottom line is this: No amount of law-keeping can bridge the gap between a perfectly holy God and sinful men and women like you and me. But once we understand this biblical truth, we can also apply it to our physical burdens as well.

Jesus knows we are all carrying burdens, and He invites us to come to Him for the rest we yearn for and desperately need. The “yoke” of our Lord Jesus is a symbol of submission and surrender to His rule and reign in our lives, which comes through our consistent commitment to discipleship.

We must be clear on what this actually means. It does not mean that we simply come to Jesus when we are burdened and dump it all on Him. Rather, we come to Him and He shoulders the burden with us because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Sometimes Jesus removes the entire weight of the burden from us; but when He doesn’t do that, He lifts the weight of that burden and us too, puts it all on His shoulders, and carries us with it.

Whatever you are going through right now, remember that you are not going through it alone. Jesus is right there with you, and He wants you to lean on Him and let Him shoulder your burden. This won’t take all your pain away, but it will give you the peace that passes all human understanding. Knowing that will empower you to rest in Him.

Are you experiencing the blessing of His yoke in your life today? His yoke truly is easy and His burden truly is light. Peter put it this way: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). To cast is to throw in a forceful way whatever is burdening you to the only One who can carry it — and you — every step of the way into glory.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!