They say the only thing constant in life is change. As someone who loves stability and predictability, I find this both accurate and unnerving. Over the past few months, two of my favorite people have been preparing to leave their home of nearly 50 years. As you can imagine, this has been an emotionally and physically back-breaking endeavor.
While I am in no way able to soothe the emotional pain, I have been gifted with what friends call “a strong back and weak mind.” If you need something heavy moved, just point me in the right direction and let me do my thing. I get an amazing sense of satisfaction by doing this and know that God has wired me to serve by moving heavy things. (We all have gifts and mine is a little stranger than most). When my wife packs the car without me, I feel a sense of loss that I could not use “my gift”.
My ability to move heavy things results in at least two areas of conflict. The first is that I get very frustrated when I have the ability to move things easily, yet others choose to struggle to do it themselves when I am right there. The second is when I am moving something that others find difficult, they transfer what would be their difficulty onto me. They question, dismiss, or fight me on something I am fully capable of doing. I mean, why struggle or question when I can easily lighten your load?
As I thought about this, Matthew 11: 28-30 came to mind. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” My frustration with others who won’t let me help resulted in the Holy Spirit convicting me of my own behavior.
How many times have I done the same with Jesus? What is He not capable of handling? When I do have the good sense to hand Him my burdens, why do I question, dismiss, or fight Him in the way He chooses to handle it? Why do I choose to be “weary and burdened” when Jesus is standing there offering rest?
Thankfully, we have a Savior who offers us the answer in a way that our current culture may find unnerving. He asks us to take His yoke and learn from Him. In our high technology culture, the picture of taking up a yoke may seem strange, but the principle is clear – anchor yourself to me, and let me guide, direct, and teach you. Without His yoke – we have no direction and wander without purpose. The yoke corrects that problem by keeping us in step with Jesus while He teaches us through His Word, prayer, Godly fellowship, and past experiences all driven by His Holy Spirit.
So next time you see or experience something “heavy”, remember that there is a Savior that delights in carrying it for you. His purpose is not only to carry it but for you to learn from Him and for you to find rest for your soul.
