Thursday, July 18, 2024

Listen to the Word

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.    (Matthew 11:28-29)

One of the commands Jesus gives as part of his prescription for dealing with our weary and burdened condition is, “Take my yoke upon you.” A yoke is what ancient people would put on an ox so they could make it go where they wanted it to go. In a sense, Jesus is asking you to let him take the steering wheel. He wants you to accept his authority over you.

A yoke is often a symbol of slavery and oppression. But Christ’s yoke is something desirable. He is the master carpenter, so his yoke is “easy” – it fits. It was made for you. More accurately, you were made for it. You were built for life surrendered to Christ. You were engineered to be less than satisfied apart from him. You were designed to depend on Christ, and you will never really rest until you do.

Live the Word

You can probably find evidence in your life today that things don’t go well when you are not submitting to Christ’s authority. Confess that to him, and ask him to help you trust him with everything.