I was exhausted from life. Working so hard to be the best mom, wife, daughter and real estate professional I could be. Don’t get me wrong, my life was great. I had a great job, a husband who adored me, lived in my hometown surrounded by family and friends, a beautiful home and a very beautiful and healthy teenage daughter. I was living the life that I created and wanted. I strove hard to have all of these things. It was my definition of “living the dream”. By all appearances I’m sure most thought I was living a blessed life and honestly, I was. I was pushing 40 years old and had achieved all that I had worked for. Yet, there was something missing. There was a call in my heart that I couldn’t quite answer. It wasn’t a new call. It was a voice that I had been trying to please all of my life and here I was at the pinnacle of achieving everything a person could want and that voice was still there, unquenched.
It was a loud voice. One that would wake me up every morning, literally flying me out of bed, commanding me to get started on all of the things that needed to be accomplished that day. Day after day I ran like I was running out of time and every moment was filled with production. I was running, working, coaching, cooking, cleaning, leading, and loving has hard as I could. You name it, I was doing it, and at a very high level. I eventually hit a wall, exhausted, but the voice didn’t quit. It yelled, “don’t stop! there is more to do! get going!” So, even in my exhaustion I kept running.
Does this life sound familiar to you? Are you exhausted? Is there a voice inside of you driving you to move ahead, but you can’t ever seem to get to where it wants to take you?
This is not the life God intended for you. Productive, yes, successful, yes, blessed, yes, healthy, yes, but exhausted, no. Being exhausted is not in God’s plan.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says:
“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.
I’ve heard this verse preached a hundred times. I’ve read it in my bible a hundred times. I’ve repeated it in prayer a hundred times. Yet, why was I still so tired? Why was I still weary and burdened? What does it mean to take Jesus’ yoke? How would taking his yoke find rest for my soul?
Jesus was painting a very vivid picture through his words, but I had a very hard time understanding his analogy. I understood what a “yoke” was, but I didn’t understand the context he was using it in.
I grew up on a farm and had brothers who loved horses, which is where I learned about a yoke. My brothers were skilled in training teams of large horses to pull wagon’s and I loved to watch them do it. They would start by training each horse individually, one at a time. First, they would hook up one of the horses to pull until that horse was confident in its role and obedient to my brother’s directions. Then they would harness the second horse to pull along side it. The first horse was the one that was trusted to do everything as commanded because it had learned how to be obedient to my brothers voice. The second horse was guided to learn through the first horse, which made his learning much easier. The lead horse listened to my brother (their “master”) and the second one followed what the lead horse was doing and together they pulled the wagon.
I loved riding on the wagon when the lead horse obediently trusted my brothers guidance and the second horse obediently followed the lead. However, it was scary when either one of them decided to disobey and move within their own will. These actions caused the horses to work against each other and veer the wagon into a direction my brother didn’t want to go. My brother would then have to correct their disobedience. Through correction, they learned that working together and listening to him created a much better experience for all.
In Jesus’ analogy, he is wearing the yoke of The Master (God) who has the reigns. He is inviting us into God’s journey, along side and underneath his yoke. If we choose to do this, not only does Jesus promise that he will carry the burden, but he will gently and humbly teach us how to walk with him. As a result, the yoke is easy (not hard to do) and our burden is light. (Jesus may have more than one meaning attached to his use of the word “light” in this scripture, but for this story let’s assume he means “not heavy”.)
Hidden in this lesson are the promises we have when we are willing to let go of our independent life and replace it with one led by Jesus. It’s hard for us to imagine that when we put a yoke on our shoulders that we will actually experience rest. However, this is Jesus talking. He’s already proven He will carry the cross for us, so why question his willingness to carry His yoke?
With no other strength available, I have learned to apply this verse to my own life and found that Jesus’ promises are true. As I ignore the voice that drives me towards some unreachable personal desire and instead learn to listen to Jesus, I’ve discovered that not only is He a gentle and humble leader, but he is truly giving rest to my soul.
Breathlife 