In the second paragraph of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will give us rest…to take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from Him, for His yoke is easy. I find this beautiful and comforting, and yet very difficult to do. A yoke is a piece of equipment that ties two animals together so that they can share the burden of heavy work…think of oxen dragging a plow or pulling a heavy wagon. Jesus is inviting us to allow Him to help us with whatever we’re burdened with; He’s offering to help, and in reality to take the majority of the burden on Himself thereby making our portion of the work less difficult. That is the beautiful part; we have a God that loves us so much that He wants to make our lives easier. The difficulty comes from thinking we can do it all by ourselves. “I’ve got this, I don’t need
anyone’s help.” We pride ourselves on being independent, and in doing so we so often make things much harder than they need to be. We want things to be done “our way,” sometimes we even try to make others conform to our way. When we do that, we are “living in the flesh.” When we recognize that we need God’s help, surrender to Him, and allow Him to share our burdens and direct our lives, then we are “living in the spirit.” I know I’ve had issues in the last few weeks that I thought I could handle on my own…suffice it to say that didn’t go well. When I turned to God and acknowledged that I needed help, things began to turn around. What are the issues that Jesus wants you to share with Him? Don’t be afraid to let Him help.