Surrendering To The Yoke

There are certain verses in the Bible that draw me in when I read them. Matthew 11:28-30 do it every time. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (NLT). Yokes aren’t something we see very often in the age of tractors, but I believe much of this verse hinges on understanding the yoke and how it was used during the time Jesus spoke these words. His audience would have easily understood, but today we will dig a little deeper.

Yokes were a tool built for two to work together. A farmer would often pair a stronger ox with a younger one. The yoke would help the younger one learn from the other one as he matured. The older ox would shoulder the load, set the pace and direction. If the younger one tried to show how strong and capable it was, it would be fighting against the intention of the yoke. It had to learn to work with the more experienced ox. The ox would learn by staying close, not trying harder. In fact, if it tried to veer off, resist or set the pace itself, it often got hurt. Once it surrendered to the yoke and the older ox, it became more productive and the load instantly became lighter.

Jesus is inviting us into a life of proximity where He sets the pace, carries the load and teaches us how to live the life He created us to live. If you’ve tried to set your own pace or shoulder the load, you know how exhausting that can be. Jesus is inviting us to come to Him and surrender our way of doing things as we learn His rhythm of life and allow Him to do the heavy lifting. When we finally admit we can’t do it on our own, He’s there waiting to give us a yoke that is easy to carry as we learn to walk in step with Him. At some point we must decide whose yoke we’re going to be under, whose strength we’re going to trust and who will set the pace for our life. Jesus’s invitation isn’t to make us try harder, but to walk closer and to trust Him. Will you go to Him today and surrender your way for His?

Image by Google Gemini