TAKE MY YOKE

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  –Matthew 11:28-30  (NLT)

 

What encouraging verses, rich in meaning, to apply to our lives.

A yoke is a type of harness that usually connects a pair of oxen.  What does it mean to be yoked to Jesus?  We come together with Jesus, He leads, we follow, He shares the burdens with us, and He helps us make it through.

 

Photo courtesy of JoLynne Martinez under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

If we visualize Jesus coming alongside us with His yoke, we realize that Jesus is calling us to…

–Connection with Him-His yoke fits perfectly and is lighter than the one we try to pull by ourselves. Jesus says, “Be with me.”

–Direction with Him-We will be going in the same direction with Jesus guiding our lives. We cannot wander off any more. Jesus says,  “Follow me.”

–Cooperation with Him-We have no choice but to follow Jesus’ pace. We are joined in Kingdom work realizing everything we do has an eternal impact.  Jesus says,  “Work with me.”

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The opening Scripture passage came to mind as I had the privilege of assisting at the local Bandera Christmas dinner for the first time this holiday season. In 1989, William and Caroline Bandera wanted to do something for the community to let them know people cared.  They provided a free, hot Christmas meal, which they served to 69 people that year.  This year, 31 years later, relatives and volunteers prepped and served close to 3,000 dinners!   Volunteers delivered 1,600 meals to the homebound, with the remaining meals being take-out at four different locations in the surrounding area due to the pandemic.

 

Prepping goodie bags

Finding out this event needed help prepping beforehand, and on Christmas Day, was a ripple effect of sending a text to a friend to share a God moment with her.  Little did I know how God would use that simple text to enable me the honor of being able to serve three days with this event. She casually mentioned a few ways she was spreading holiday cheer with some ministries, which piqued my interest.

Finding a way I could help serve others with this undertaking was perfect.  I had no idea they start prepping around December 10th for the Christmas dinner. I was very impressed with how organized the event was from beginning to end.  Every day there were certain duties listed, each explained, with specific times, the number of people needed, and how many spots still needed to be filled.  What are the chances that my friend and I ended up there one day at the same time, sitting next to each other, carving turkeys?  God is good like that!

 

Working together to process 110 cans of yams!

My youngest son, home from college for a few weeks, was willing to help serve two days as well. His youth and muscles came in handy for a lot of heavy lifting.  On Christmas Day, my husband, son, and I signed up to put together the to-go containers at a new site.  Once again, I saw God’s hand that right down the street from there, two men needed help with prepping the potatoes, so we were able to go there first.  We were right where we were supposed to be.

I was in awe to find out the two men came in at 3:00 am to start prepping the famous mashed potatoes, something I have to admit I was not willing to do despite liking to serve!  By the time we got there at 9:30 am, they had cut up 11-50 lb. bags of potatoes of the 15 bags and were cooking and mashing them.  My son was able to help with carrying the big pots of potatoes back and forth and getting them ready for the distribution locations. My husband and I helped cut the rest of the potatoes.  The cooking and cleaning up process of the potatoes took three guys until after 1 pm!

 

Preparing the applesauce

 

I couldn’t help but think of the Bible passage about the yoke and this huge event.  There were 125 volunteers who yoked together to make this event happen.  Each person was an important part that was needed to make it be successful.  One by one, coming together to serve in His name, made the burden bearable. One person would not be able to do it.  When one person was tired and weary, another person came alongside to assist.  The burden was made lighter with many people and hands all wanting to serve others, to share with those in need.  As the organizer I had the privilege of working with said, “The honor is having so many people willing to be servants when the times are and have been so troubled.”

 

 I encourage you to reflect this week on how Jesus desires to be continually yoked with us.

 

 

With Jesus leading, we…

…can be assured of going in the right direction.

…will stay on the path, not wandering off.

…will not shoulder the burden ourselves.

…have more strength.

…are not alone.

 

Keep in mind that Jesus takes charge of the yoke as He gently guides us.

We can trust Him through everything.

Together with Jesus, we can be confident our burdens are lighter.

 

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.  –Psalm 25:9  (NIV)