“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
These words, spoken by Jesus over two thousand years ago, have been memorized and spoken by many throughout the ages who find that life is often unkind, often a daily burden. Our Savior is promising His weary and heavy laden children ease and light burdens. Yes, I want ease in this life!. Yes, I want a light burden! So we look again at what we must do to obtain these things...or do we?
The King James Version of this text uses a word that, I believe, better fits into the meaning behind this verse. It’s a word that we don’t hear much anymore and when we do, we’re not quite sure that we like its meaning. Meek.
“Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart.”
Meek: "Of low degree, brought low with grief, downcast, downtrodden, afflicted, taken advantage of. "
Our western culture, even those in the church, have come to associate a good life as a life that is successful, happy, no troubles, financial security, a happy family. We recoil at brokenness, trial, and sorrow thinking that there must be something somewhere that is wrong or sinful.
We know unbelievers believe this to be the case because we see lives that will use anything and everyone just to avoid discomfort. What is shocking is that there are many believers who think the same thoughts. Why do I think so? Because our first thought when we see hardship in another believer’s life isn’t “Praise God that He is using you for His glory!” Most often our first thought is, “What is God trying to teach you so that you can get back to being whole and happy, again?” I know this is the case because that’s the question I ask myself when difficult situations arise. “What have I done Lord? Why me? What should I do to make it better?”
These are the questions that are constant when sufferings and trials arise that are too deep to ignore. The sufferings that plague you in the quiet of the night as you lay on your bed. The sufferings that whisper their weight in your ear as your mind awakens with the dawn. These are the pains that even the strongest believer looks at and says “I see no relief” “I see no hope.”
“No hope you say?” “Why, look, my brother, at the Psalms...see their balm to the weary soul and rejoice that the same God still exists and cares for you” “Still in tears my sister? Meditate on the high and exalted God who is everlasting and your eyes will be lifted away from your sorrow”
What do you do when these are your patterns, your daily patterns and, let the pain be great enough, they become your hourly patterns. What then, if at your lowest, you look to the word and you fix your eyes on Christ but you still find the pain just as great, the sorrow still crushing? What do you do when what you thought would “fix” doesn’t fix? What hope is left if there isn’t an end to the hurt by drawing closer to Christ? This is where hope seems to be too far away...where rest for the soul seems unattainable.
The word to describe this state isn’t often used anymore. Despondent. We read of believers long ago who suffered from being despondent..men and women who loved God but suffered great pains of the heart and mind.
Despondent: Low spirits caused from loss of hope or courage.
Like a swimmer who wakes up one morning and decides to swim the English Channel...half way across he realizes that it’s just too far..no hope of making it. The courage he had at the beginning is gone because He found in himself the physical inability to finish..his body just won’t be able to do it.
In the Word we read that the call upon a believer’s life is a call to take up one’s cross and follow. That to find one’s life he must first lose it. Is this the state that is meant? Isn’t the Christian life meant to be joyful and successful, a testimony that God takes care of His children? And yet here I am..despondent. I must be in sin.
When Jesus spoke of a burden, I believe He spoke not of the everyday inconveniences that can frustrate plans. I believe He is speaking of a heavy load that creates an exhausted weary soul. A soul that just seems to lose its courage because while you struggle, life still goes on. The bills keep piling up, the kids really aren’t going to live with us anymore, the cancer is still there, the son that no longer believes still won’t talk to us, the daughter is still living on the streets, the consequences of my own sin still are daily felt even though I know I’ve been forgiven. How can I wake up another day in this reality and still have courage? Still hope?
These are the depths that seem to kill the hopes and dreams you had for this life. My business really did fail. I am being sued by unrighteous men and it looks like they will win. I was just fired for not being willing to compromise. I just lost the girl/the boy I thought I would marry because of my love for Christ first. I know I should be joyful that I chose Christ above it all, but why does it seem that sinful men have an easy life? Why does it seem that I am the only one left with nothing?
I think the answer is found in the above verse. Take My yoke upon you, and LEARN from Me, for I am MEEK and lowly of heart.” Christ is telling those who would follow Him that the call is to walk alongside the One who was cast aside, abused, and rejected by sinful men. That we are to learn not a how to get out of it, but a how to walk IN it.
This is the way we are to look at our unresolvable burdens, the pains of life that we cannot control. This is a marathon of faith that we have been tasked to run. This is a daily, hour by hour, battle for the mind that we are engaged in. The soul that is burdened says, “Please, I just want rest” And our Savior says come to me and I will give you rest. But this rest is not a rest because the pain, hardship, or injustice was removed, this rest comes from a release of the burden. It’s not a rest that we make happen..it’s something we do. It is what comes to us when we stop trying to make it stop and place the burden upon the shoulders of Christ. Then a transformation takes place...we take on the meekness of Christ.
This is what Christ was talking about in Matthew 5...Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those that are meek. These are all qualities that described our sinless Savior. Each one of the qualities were His at different points in His ministry on earth.
Those who are burdened with pains that seem to be endless, our Savior says, "Come, be joined with me and I will give you rest for your weary soul." The rest comes then as my identity becomes His. My burden is lifted as I take in the Word...His word everyday and let it transform me into His meek image. I realize that this isn’t punishment but a life that is learning meekness. I’ve joined myself with the one who is meek. My sorrow and mourning aren’t a turning of His love away from me, they are a kinship that I now have with the One who’s sorrows were many. I do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with my weakness but one who has walked all of these steps in this broken world. That perfect love now says, "Come, walk step to step with me and watch and learn as you put one foot in front of the other. Learn that greatness is found in sacrifice, love is found in losing, hope is found when all your plans fail, joy is found as a result of being in step with your Lord." This then builds an endurance as we realize that this step by step kinship will last for all eternity.This is the rest for the weary soul who still is confined to this sin filled world...still experiencing the trial one more day.
If you find your heart burdened today with troubles that are causing you to lose courage, with injustices that are crushing your hope, look to Christ, fall in step with Him, welcome the meek character of Christ that is to be yours and trust. Trust that the eternal glory will far outshine these earthly afflictions. Trust that His comfort and care are hourly graces that are often not meant to take the pain away but comfort us in their midst. Fix your eyes in Christ, the author of your story, therefore the author of your faith, and remember that He will indeed, as we walk with Him, complete what He has begun. This is beautiful grace and glorious glory to the One who is the salvation of our souls. The highest praise to our God emerges from the lips of the one in pain, the one who seems to be losing everything, when he looks at his life and says,”My highest joy is looking like Christ. Praise be to God for the life He has given me.”
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