"Come unto me...and I will give you rest!" (Matthew 11:28-30)

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

These verses have meant a lot to me lately and I have been extremely challenged by realizing what they mean, so I thought I would share with you what I have learned! :)

"Come unto me..." This is obviously a command to come to Christ. ;)

"...all ye that labour..." This was a new one for me. The word here "labour" means overworked. Having too much to do. Who in college doesn't? lol

"...and are heavy laden..." This was also something I never realized. "Heavy laden" means overburdened. Having a lot of burdens and maybe not knowing what to do about some of them. This happens to me A LOT!

"...and I will give you rest." Okay. So if those who are overworked and overburdened come to Christ, He will give them rest. This makes sense, but sometimes I just take that part of the passage and when I don't experience that rest, then I get upset with God and wonder why I have not gotten rest. But I have to keep reading.

"Take my yoke upon you..." Okay. Stop for a second. What is a yoke? I looked up what this is, and it is the wooden instrument placed around an ox's neck to let him work and plow fields. But these are not light things.  They are heavy. And in Bible times, each yoke was made to fit one specific ox. If the ox tried to wear a different yoke, it would be uncomfortable to work in - either too heavy or too tight, etc. So I am supposed to take on CHRIST'S yoke? But I already have my own yoke! That would make my yoke heavier, wouldn't it? Read on...

"...and learn of me..." So I am supposed to learn from Christ. But learn what? Keep reading! :)

"...for I am meek..." This word meek has the implication of humility and being under control. I am supposed to be humble and controlled by God's Spirit just like Christ!

"...and lowly in heart..." The words lowly in heart mean in this context humble and controlled as well. So again, I am to be humble and controlled by the Spirit. But what does this have to do with yokes and burdens and work? Well, one thing I realized was that I, in my pride and selfishness wanted to hold onto my yoke and to decide which yoke to put on, when Christ was, the whole time, trying to get me to put His yoke on. He is like the farmer who made the yoke for the ox, and the dumb ox says "I don't want that yoke. I want this one!(the one for the elephant)" That is dumb! The yoke for the elephant will be much too heavy for the ox to wear and work with. And the farmer knew that and made a yoke specifically for that ox just like Christ made a burden and life just for me. I have to simply humble myself and take His yoke. Then it occurred to me: how will I find have rest if I still have a yoke around my neck? Well, Christ says it is His yoke. So...if it is His yoke, isn't He wearing it? Yes, and no. He is helping me to bear it. He is right there with me helping me along. THAT is why I can rest.

"...and ye shall find rest unto your souls." "Find" This word struck me. I am not going to get it for myself. It will be given to me in the right time - when I am submitted.

"For my yoke is easy..." This word easy means bearable. Not hard.

"...and my burden is light." This word light means easy to be beared or not heavy.These two phrases seem like a paradox. A yoke being easy and light? That doesn't make sense. But it does in this context. If my burden seems to heavy it is because I am not taking on His yoke, but I have taken back my own yoke, and I am trying to bear it on my own. In Bible times a farmer would yoke a new ox to an older and stronger ox to help it to bear the yoke. That is what Christ does when we take His yoke. He is the older and stronger and wiser one who is bearing the heavy weight for us making it "bearable."

This passage was such a rebuke to me! Am I resting in Him? Who's yoke am I trying to bear? Do my burdens seem too heavy to bear? Chances are, I am trying to do things my way and in my strength. WRONG CHOICE! I cannot do anything in my own strength. I DESPERATELY need Him to help me! I hope this was also an encouragement and maybe a challenge to you as well. If you would like to know more about this, or have any questions about this, feel free to leave a comment and ask! I am always open to questions! :)

~ Stephanie ~

   *Phil. 3:13-14*