Is The Yoke On You?

OCTOBER 6, 2020

By Jeff Page, Director of Young Adults

“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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

Are you tired, discouraged, depleted? Six months into Covid, our communities are divided, polarized, and floundering, and many of us are way out of our depth. Exhaustion, anxiety, and despair have become commonplace in the unending Groundhog Day of stay-at-home orders and severe social restrictions, not to mention the international health crisis and economic collapse. Where can anyone find rest and a light burden? Are these just pretty words or happy thoughts, or is Jesus offering meaningful help for our actual lives?

Jesus’ answer to our question is a question for each of us: “Is the yoke on you?”

Wait. What? Let’s unpack Jesus’ words. A yoke is not the yellow on top of your loco moco (that’s “yolk”). A yoke is a device that harnesses one animal to another to combine their strength for a specific task. This could be carrying a heavy load or plowing a field. Often you would yoke a young, new ox to an experienced one. At first the young inexperienced ox will pull the whole load alone because it is eager to move forward at an unsustainable pace, and the experienced ox lets him. The wiser ox will walk alongside its new companion until it has learned to share the load and walk together.

This is Jesus’ illustration of His Good News for you. He offers you a dynamic life lived walking and working together with Him. This “with-God life” is not primarily God doing things for you, nor you doing things for God but a life of collaboration between you and Immanuel (a name for Jesus—“God with us”).

Jeff Lorg, president of my seminary (Gateway Seminary) and the best preacher I ever met, taught me the shortest and most powerful prayer I know: “Here we go, Lord.” Not “here I go,” nor “here You go,” but yoked together––“Here WE go, Lord.” I pray this before I preach, before a difficult conversation, or during a difficult task. I cannot recommend it highly enough. This prayer is a reminder to both me and God that I will do my best but not depend on my best. I will step up, but rely on God for the outcome.

If you face your day-to-day challenges on your own, as most of us do without thinking, you will find very little rest and a crushing burden. But if you are yoked to Jesus, and learn to work with Him rather than run ahead, you will find Christ joining His strength to yours for each meaningful thing in front of you. This is not primarily church stuff, this is your entire life. This is your work task-list, your family responsibilities, paying your bills or cleaning your home. These are all arenas for a collaboration with Jesus.

The key to Christ’s easy yoke and the rest He offers is a commitment to working with Christ for His purposes in all of these areas and following His lead. This takes intention and practice. It does not happen automatically. You must invite Christ into each and every area and moment of your life, and then follow His lead, at His pace, for His purposes. The easy yoke also requires stopping when Christ stops.

Is the yoke on you?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me for rushing ahead in my own strength alone, or for expecting You to do it all for me. Thank You for making Yourself and Your activity available in my life. Show me the meaningful things You are doing right in front of me and how I can join You. Teach me to follow Your lead. Here we go, Lord. Amen.