Matthew 11:
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 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.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
As I began my search for a devotional today, I came upon this song and this verse. I, at first, said, "But Lord, why this song and why this message? Shouldn’t I just shout your praise and your Joy–after all, that is where I am today?" Yet He drew me to this message and song, so it must be for you that I am writing. In this Christian journey, I have been there where you are many times in my life. The trials and struggles of this life have brought you to a point of deep sorrow and no matter how hard you try to lift yourself up; you can’t see how to go one more step. Are you burdened down today and feel that the troubles of this world have worn you down? When you look at this verse, initially you may see a dichotomy. If you are heavy laden by your labor, Christ says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me" A yoke is a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (as oxen) are joined at the heads or necks for working together. We would often think of rest as just stopping the labor; but Christ is suggesting that we take upon ourselves an instrument to continue the work and in that we find rest. When we are yoked together with Christ, we are unable to pull to the right or left; we must march forward only. Every time we pull against the yoke we are pulled back. Every time we struggle against the yoke, we become worn out. However, as we are fastened tightly at the neck with Jesus we suddenly find that He is doing the work. The labor becomes light. I cannot help but remember a sermon by John Piper in which he describes the yoke as such that once connected tightly, Christ lifts the weight of that yoke and we are lifted til our feet barely touch the ground and as He performs the work we are weightlessly jumping, gleefully along the path. So if you are burdened or worn out today, look to Jesus; He will carry the weight of that burden with you and restore the Joy and Love in your heart that you so long for today.