“For
My Yoke Is Easy And My Burden Is Light”
“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
I awoke to
pitch darkness. I hadn’t slept more than thirty minutes and my heart sensed
that sleep wouldn’t return soon. A friend’s husband lay in the hospital, having
received the dreaded news, “The cancer is back—in the brain and spine now.” My
whole being hurt for my friends. What a heavy load! And yet, somehow my spirit
was lifted through my sacred vigil of prayer. You might say I felt beautifully
burdened for them. How could this be?
In Matthew
11:28–30, Jesus promises rest for our weary souls. Strangely, His rest comes as
we bend under His yoke and embrace His burden. He clarifies in verse 30, “For
my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When we allow Jesus to lift our burden
from our backs and then tether ourselves to Jesus’s yoke, we become harnessed
with Him, in step with Him and all He allows. When we bend under His burden, we
share in His sufferings, which ultimately allows us to share in His comfort as
well (2 Corinthians 1:5).
My concern
for my friends was a heavy burden. Yet I felt grateful that God would allow me
to carry them in prayer. Gradually I ebbed back to sleep and awoke—still
beautifully burdened but now under the easy yoke and light load of walking with
Jesus.
What
are you carrying today? How will you give that burden to Jesus?
Dear Jesus, please take my heavy load
and lay upon me Your beautiful burden for this world.
Our Daily Bread – November 21, 2019