Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
The promise of rest is offered to all who come to Jesus. Whenever we labor and are heavy laden, the Lord bids us to come to Him. We are instructed to put His yoke on and learn of Him. In biblical times there were yokes of wood and yokes of iron. They were generally designed to enable beasts of burden to plow in the same direction. The weight of the yoke was an added burden to the work itself. Have you ever felt like you were carrying extra weight?
The Lord Jesus wants us to know that it is not necessary for us to bear our burden all by ourselves. In fact we are encouraged to bear one another’s burdens, so that we can fulfill the law of Christ. [Galatians 6:2] Moreover, He wants to come along side and help us carry the load. His strength makes the burden light, and unlike beasts of burden who bear yokes of iron, His yoke is easy. We are expected to labor in God’s vineyard as co-laborers with Christ. In order for us to do it His way however, we must learn of Him. We know that even if we labor together with him, cares of this life can weigh on us, so the Lord invites us to cast all of our cares upon Him — casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7]
Because the Lord cares, He offers us rest even though we labor. How can we rest while we labor? Simply put, He does the work, especially the heavy lifting. We are to humble ourselves and submit ourselves under the mighty hand of God — Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, [1 Peter 5:6]
We do well when we learn of Him, because we discover gentleness and lowliness of heart. Learning His attributes makes it easy for us to humble ourselves — Though the LORD is on high,Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. [Psalm 138:6] The LORD regards the lowly but He resists the proud. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Our goal is to be like Jesus and that is why we come to Him to learn and find rest for our souls. The essence of our being is in our soul. When we find rest for our souls, we can rest from our labor. Work without heavy burden is light because the One who has all power walks beside us every step of the way; and His strength is made perfect in our weakness [2 Corinthians 12:9].
The Lord gives us rest when we come to Him, and we also find rest for our souls when we learn of Him. Therefore, we should never stop seeking because when we seek we find. My prayer for you today is that you will receive the rest that has been promised, and that you would also find rest for your soul.
Maranatha
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