WHEN LIFE GETS TOUGH, YOKE WITH JESUS
SCRIPTURE:
“At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 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.” (Matthew 11:25—30)
OBSERVATION:
At the beginning of this chapter, John seems to be frustrated that he is sitting in prison and wonders if Jesus, who was preaching nearby town was the one that was supposed to come. John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the one that he came as a frontrunner for his coming. John, because he was sitting in prison, seems to be offended that Jesus, if he was the coming One, what is going on? John sounded offended that Jesus wasn’t helping him out of prison too. Jesus told John’s disciples to go back and tell John what they heard and saw. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news preached. And happy is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.
There are many things that we, as believers, are frustrated about in our journey of faith. Believers expect God to work out their issues in life. Believers often see their prayers go unanswered. One wonders why God is not seeing me. Is God really concerned about me? We often feel like John, being in prison. We feel abandoned. We feel Jesus is out of touch with what is going on in our lives.
The truth is, Jesus sees you, knows where you are, and hears you. When we walk with Jesus, our journey in life is made possible. Jesus invites us to come to him in our relationship. Like any relationship, there is depth and width that people must have in order for them to know how special it is. There are mysteries and depths that only those in that special relationship have. My relationship from one person to the other is not the same. It all depends on the depth of the relationship. The deeper we enter each other’s world, the more we find out about that person.
Jesus chooses to reveal himself and the Father to those who have entered into this relationship. John the Baptist almost lost sight of how special his calling was. John was sent from God to be the forerunner to announce Jesus’s coming and mission. However, while doing God’s will, he ended up in prison. Jesus had to remind John’s disciples not to be offended and doubting, but to remember why he came.
Common people do not know the relationship between Jesus and John. Jesus has to ask them, what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed sway by the wind? A dress in fine clothing? A prophet? Yes, and more than a prophet. Jesus said, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.
Following Jesus does not guarantee that we will not be frustrated and disappointed when we look at our trials and tribulations. Thus, these words of Jesus encourage me today. Come to me ALL you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Life can be wearisome and burdensome. It can be stressful and unbearable. But Jesus said, IN HIM is our rest. He didn’t say he would take away our problems. He said, do life together with me. You don’t have to struggle alone.
Whether you are doing God’s will and end up finding yourself in an unexpected place, Jesus does not worry. Come to him and rest. Many times, Jesus is not there to remove our problems but to journey with us through our issues in life. I, as a disciple of Jesus, must learn the heart of Jesus when facing life. Jesus invites us to YOKING with him. The yoke is no guarantee that the two will not pull animals away from each other, but both yoking animals will be heading in the same direction the master is guiding them.
Likewise, when we accept Jesus’ offer to yoke with him, we will learn to humble ourselves and not resist his direction and fight against him. When we yoke with Jesus, we are going to find rest in the midst of all that we face in life. Jesus is with us all the way. Thus, we can rest assured and not be pulled by the crisis of life that we are in. Yoking with Jesus makes life easy and possible and the load lighter. Again, he didn’t say he would remove our problems, but he would yoke and pull us through our problems.
APPLICATION:
I learned today that I must come to Jesus and yoke with him so I don’t have to be burdened down with the things that I see that frustrated and disappointed me in life. I am reminded that Jesus does not always remove my problems, but he invites me to come to him, and together, we face life going ahead. I want to always look to Jesus for strength, wisdom, and lessons learned, even in difficult times. I will continue to go to him daily.
PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you that in you I find peace and rest. I find the strength to pull through life together. Please teach me how to humble and be kind and gentle even in the midst of fiery situations in my life. I say today that I put my trust in you daily. Thank you for inviting me to come to you and to hold on and pull together with you in life. Thank you, Jesus, for your invitation, and I gladly receive it. Amen!
