I’ve been thinking about Matthew chapter 11 verse 28- 30 where Jesus talks about all offering rest for our souls. In these verses, Jesus not only offers us rest, but also gives us insight into how to enter into that rest. After offering soul rest to the weary, and heavy laden in verse 28, he invites us to take his yoke upon us and learn from Him verse 29. Pay close attention to what Jesus then says to us in verse 29. He says” take my yoke upon and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. Then, in first 30 Jesus says the most amazing thing, ” for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” That seems like a ridiculous statement. How could Jesus ever say that this burden was light. No one has ever faced as many pressures, or stressful situations as Jesus did on a daily basis. Think about all the things that Jesus faced every day. All the broken people pressing in; the crowds; the conflicts with the Jewish Leaders; and the spiritual warfare He must have constantly faced. Think about the future He knew He was facing. None of us have ever, or will ever deal with the kind of pressures and responsibilities that Jesus faced on a daily basis. No matter how difficult your future may appear to be, it is nothing compared to His.
Now here is the secret to His burden being light, and the offer of rest He extends to us. He said, “learn from me.” Ok; so What is it we can learn? Simply this; He was meek and lowly of heart(KJV). He said, “take my yoke, “ and His yoke was simply that in meekness and humility, He was totally surrendered to do His Fathers will. As a matter of fact, Psalm 40 verse 8 says that Jesus DELIGHTED to do His Fathers will. He wasn’t just submitted to his Father’s will, He delightfully surrendered to it. That kind of attitude alone will bring a measure of rest to a person’s soul. There’s no resistance. There’s no inner struggle. There’s no fighting back. There is simply surrender. There is a big difference between submitting to someone’s will while on the inside really resisting it. Giving in to God’s will and delighting in His will are two far different things. Also, (This is very important) Jesus knew that every time in faith, He submitted to His Father’s will, His Father was prepared to perform that task through Him. As the Son of Man, that made His burden light. Read John 14:10. Everything that Jesus was called to face, His Father was prepared to work through Him. Jesus lived, delightfully surrendering to his Father, in absolute anticipation of His Fathers activity on His behalf. This is the kind of yoke He invites us to take up which will bring rest to our souls. If in faith, we will be as surrendered to Him as He was to His Father, then He will be as available to us in every situation as His Father was to Him. Living our lives delightfully surrendered Him out of sheer love for Him, and in total dependence on Him, invoking His ability in each and every situation.
My Savior, Thou hast offered rest:
Oh, give it then to me;
The rest of ceasing from myself,
To find my all in Thee.
This cruel self, oh, how it strives
And works within my breast,
To come between Thee and my soul,
And keep me back from rest.
How many subtle forms it takes
Of seeming verity,
As if it were not safe to rest
And venture all on Thee.
O Lord, I seek a holy rest,
A victory over sin;
I seek that Thou alone shouldst reign
O’er all without, within.
In Thy strong hand I lay me down,
So shall the work be done;
For who can work so wondrously
As the Almighty One?
Work on, then, Lord, till on my soul
Eternal light shall break,
And, in Thy likeness perfected,
I “satisfied” shall wake.