This week I have been using the Scripture Writing Schedule 1.11 – “Letting Go.” The memory verse has been I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” So often, we say that we’re “letting go and letting God,” but are we really turning things over to Him?
Last night the additional scripture writing was Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” I’ve read these verses numerous times, but this week, one phrase struck me and I’ve “pondered” on it off and on all day. It’s the part, “Take My yoke, and learn of Me.” So I decided to do a word search on what a yoke is. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “yoke” as a wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals (such as oxen) are joined at the necks for the purpose of working together. A yoke represents servitude, enslavement, or bondage. A yoke represents some hardness or degree of difficulty, but if two animals must pull a plow, it is an aid and helps make the work easier. So how can we take Jesus’ yoke? We do it by learning of Him. We should learn from Him and only Him, for He is the great Teacher. We must learn His mission (to seek and save the lost – Luke 19:10). We must learn how to submit from Him (“Yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered – Hebrews 5:8). We must learn how to love – (“But God commendeth His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us – Romans 5:8) We must learn His manner and disposition (for I am meek and lowly in heart -Matthew 11:29).
If we have learned of Him and are able to join into the yoke with Him, rest for our souls will be our reward. It may seem hard at first, but the blessings that come from living the Christian life on this earth and the promise of that eternal home in heaven with God, makes the load “light.” We can never learn too much. Are you letting go and letting God? God Bless, Courtney