28 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. 30 For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30
Are you too tired sometimes? Have you ever felt so tired that you feel you’re at your end, with just a slight provocation? Do you sometimes feel as if everything around you is trying to bring you down?
I have felt this way a couple of times. One would think that I would be more mature when handling such a feeling due to familiarity. It is only logical to be able to dust off such a feeling because I didn't die the other time. So, yeah, I would survive this right? If it is meant to be so, why do I find myself always breaking down from the familiar overwhelming feeling?
My most recent moment of feeling such an overwhelming burden literally broke me. It is so convenient to look as if you have your life sorted out and you are doing great at balancing everything around you e.g. responsibilities - life's load. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case.
Looking at the bible verse Matthew 11:28 - 30, Jesus promises to give rest to all who are burdened.
It is quick for us to think that “rest” would mean taking “the load” away e.g. the endless financial expenses; the struggle with doing what is right rather than what is easy; the determination to stay with loneliness for the sake of maintaining chastity to please God; the endless battle between faith and doubt within one's heart, etc. Well, it would be so delightful if that was it, right?
The next verse sort of changes one's perception of the dream escape from “carrying these loads”. Jesus says “Take my yoke and put it on you ... “ Erm, I’m not understanding 😐 ... The word “yoke” makes me subconsciously touch the back of my neck while I think: this doesn't feel like a relief at all 😒. He then goes on to say “ ... and learn from me, for I am humble and gentle in spirit; and you will find rest.” The logical part of me says: "Dear Jesus, can't I just drop the load and rest? 😞Why do I have to take a yoke on my neck and then start a bunch of lessons?” 😫
I’ve learnt from experience that lessons aren't always fun, especially in this Christian walk. Then, the spiritual part of me says: "Tolu, you want a life that is free from pain and burden here on earth, but it doesn't exist".
Remember Jesus carried His cross, even though He cried to His Loving Father in the garden of Gethsemane to take it away. Jesus wants me to learn to be like Him. He wants to change my attitude to carrying my cross - my load. The cross, though extremely heavy and undeniably torturous for Him, was a load/burden needed to accomplish His mission on earth.
From the garden to the hill, Jesus’ attitude to the burden and pain that He did not deserve, defies all logic.
He willingly submitted to the will of God (His Father) with no rebellion in between, and this is what He wants me to learn from Him. His yoke, no matter how uncomfortable it sounds, is meant to help me balance my cross/load in a way that it doesn't overwhelm me.
This verse tells me that Jesus isn't going to remove the load, but rather, with Him in the picture, It won't be so overwhelming and that in itself, will give me rest. With Jesus, my load becomes His load, and it becomes more bearable because of His load balancer; the yoke. His lessons on gentleness, humility, a selfless abandon to the Will of God, which I must emulate are for my own good.
A yoke is only able to be effective on a pair, not on only one. If you check google, you will see a yoke is always between a pair of animals - mostly Oxen. In this picture, you are one, who do you think is the other? 😊 The other, who makes up the pair is none other than Jesus Christ Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit.
And Jesus cried. He also felt alone on the Cross, as He bore the sins that He did not partake in. His Father couldn't look at what man had done to Him, the Beloved Son. So, it is okay to cry too.
Cry but don’t give up. Remember Jesus is with you, and it is in His consolation, that You will find Rest.
Why do I need any load though?😩 Your load forges within you, the strength 💪you will need to keep on moving forward, through the various stages that God permits on your path, here on earth.
So ... Don't Give Up!💋