“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Mathew 11:28-30
What does it mean when Jesus says to take his yoke upon us? To understand this, we need to know what a yoke is. Yokes are used to harness animals, such as oxen together in order to plow a field or do some other sort of work. Two horses might be yoked together to pull a wagon. Two oxen might be yoked together to plow a field. When we are yoked with the world’s way of doing things, it can feel like hard labor and toil. However, Proverbs 10:22 says: “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” Another translation says that He adds “no painful toil.” It is good to understand this, because often we might not even realize that we are toiling until we become tired and stressed or anxious. This is a good indication that we are not resting in the Lord, but instead are trying to do things in our own effort, yoked to the world’s system. God’s ways are far different than the world’s way. The worlds’ way of doing things results in stress, toil, worry and fear. God’s way of doing things brings peace, joy and life.
Therefore, in order to enjoy the rest that Jesus is referencing, we need to yoke ourselves to Him and His kingdom ways. Hebrews 4:9-12 says: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God: For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
When we are relying on our own self effort, we are not resting. The rest the Lord is talking about is the rest of faith! It takes work to stay in faith and trust God that He is working on our behalf. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We must believe that God not only hears our prayers, but that His promises are true in our lives. We must trust that He surely is working all things together for our good because we love God and are called according to His purpose. (See Romans 8:28)
The Yoke of Faith = REST. The Yoke of Worry, Fear and Self effort = Hard Labor
When we trust God and rely on His promises, we have the peace of God in our lives and can experience a life of joy and fullness that God intended for us. Therefore, the work we need to do is the work of laboring to enter into that rest of Faith. It takes effort to stay in faith. It takes effort to pray. If takes effort to give thanks to God and praise Him even when we don’t feel like it. It takes diligence to take control of our thought life and say not what we feel, but what lines up with the word of God. Finally, it takes strength and courage to act on God’s word, not on our emotions. In order to do this successfully, we must get the word in our eyes and our ears, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (see Romans 10:17). We must take every thought captive to obedience to Christ and cast down every thought that is not of Him. (See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5) If thoughts of worry or doubt enter, we need to cast them down and instead, replace those thoughts with the Word of God. When we diligently study God’s word and make every effort to only say what lines up with His word, then we can truly enter into His rest. Jesus said in Mathew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says; “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” As we obey God, we allow the anointing of God to go to work in our lives to bring about our needs and desires in a way that brings peace and joy. Therefore, the labor that we do is that of studying God’s word, praying, giving thanks and praise and then stepping out in faith to do as He directs us. God will show us the way to go and what to do, we just have to trust and act on what He tells us to do. At times it may not make sense, however, when we follow His direction, it always leads to peace, joy and an abundant life.
Further reading: Mathew 6:25-34, Hebrews 4, Deuteronomy 31:6-7, Hebrews 11:1-35, Romans 4
