Taking Up His Yoke and Laying Down the Rest

“Come to me, all 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.” (Matt. 11:28-30 ESV)

In the 2020 Magnificat Advent Companion‘s reading for December 9, Kimberly Shankman writes, “Jesus’ message that he will give rest to the laboring and burdened has always been a favorite. Sometimes, though, I felt a little let down that Jesus didn’t stop there. Why did he have to tell us to take up his yoke? I just want his rest! It took me a while to realize that the ‘yoke’ was not an endurance test, something extra I had to do to earn the rest. The yoke is the rest.”

I dog-eared the page in my Companion, struck by the counterintuitive nature of its message. I remembered reading something about the intention of a yoke, such as that used for farm animals. A yoke always joins two animals–for example, a pair of oxen. Together, they share the load. If one animal is tired, the other helps it by shouldering more of the weight.

If we allow ourselves to be yoked with Jesus, we walk beside him. We must work together, in step, to move forward. There is, of course, always a “lead ox” that has a stronger pull. Ideally, Jesus is the lead ox, guiding us on the path so that we do not falter, sliding down an embankment into a ditch or a miry bog.

A few days ago, as I walked my favorite trail, which leads through a wooded copse, on a chilly gray afternoon, I remembered Jesus’ offer to be yoked to him. I was exhausted from the weight of a heavy internal burden. It assailed my mental and emotional health all the time, and I felt beaten down. I had been fighting against it on my own, sometimes shoving it away and other times feeling helpless against it.

As I turned from the path toward home, I could almost hear the whisper.

Give it to me. I will take it. And you can rest.

Suddenly, I understood Kimberly Shankman’s words more clearly. All God wants from us is surrender, for us to lean on him and accept the offering of his love and gentle care. When we take up the yoke of Jesus, we get to release our burdens to him. In exchange, we put on his yoke of divine strength and support. He takes the heaviest portion and, by doing so, helps us move forward onto an easier path, a sunlit path where the grass is soft beneath our tired feet.

The relief I felt at hearing that whisper, the “still, small voice of God,” was nearly overwhelming. I paused on the trail–I had come to an open place where the power lines cut through fields of still-green grass, and I looked up at the wide sky and leafless trees. I felt in that moment how big God’s creation is, and how small I am. Surely, I could trust him to take on what I’d been carrying.

This may sound oversimplified, but in that moment, I simply let everything go. It was like my soul opened its doors and all the clutter tumbled out, released from its restraints. The instantaneous sense of peace was quite physical. My muscles relaxed. My mind quieted. I felt, for the first time in months, fully at rest.

Over the next few days, Jesus’ words from Matthew 11 continued to pop up in all kinds of places: a spiritual book I was reading, my morning devotional, a meme I happened to see on social media. It felt pretty clear that this was God’s charge to me for the new year: to stop clutching my burdens to my chest and, instead, yoke myself to Christ, so that I can walk forward into a place of freedom and rest.

As you move forward into 2021, consider what burdens you might be keeping to yourself. Are you ready to surrender them to Jesus and take up his yoke, walking with him into a season of rest and renewal? If this seems too hard right now, ponder the following questions:

• What burdens am I holding onto? Worry? Fear? Guilt? Shame? What do I need to trust and believe in order to share my burdens with Christ?
• Do I believe that Jesus wants to offer me relief and rest? That he is willing to take up my burdens and carry them for me, even though I don’t deserve it? If not, what steps can I take in order to move toward belief and trust?
• Can I receive the gift of Jesus’ yoke, the gift of his gentle care, and walk forward beside him into a season of lightness?

Harmony Harkema has loved the written word for as long as she can remember. A former English teacher turned editor, she has spent the past twelve years in the publishing industry. A writer herself in the fringe hours of her working-and-homeschooling mom life, Harmony has a heart for leading and coaching aspiring writers. She is the owner of The Glorious Table and cohost and producer at The Relatable Homeschoolers podcast. Harmony lives in Memphis with her husband and two daughters. You can find her at HarmonyHarkema.com and on Instagram @harmonyharkema.

Photograph © Aaron Burden, used with permission