October 24, 2003 Friday
Taking up His Yoke (Matthew 11:28-30)

You're laboring hard for the rest and refreshing of your body, but how hard do you labor to "find rest unto your souls"? (vs 29) "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God...let us labor therefore to enter into that rest". (Hebrews 4:9,11) Have you entered this hidden realm of spiritual rest and refreshing?

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Don't be misguided into believing that this rest is available from any source apart of Jesus Christ. Every claim of rest outside Him will weigh you down like excess freight on a ship plummeting to the bottom of the seas, but if you come to the only true living God, Jesus Christ, you will be rewarded with the manifestation of His power to hurl all of the excess weight out of your life....no longer will you find yourself collapsing in a downward soul-sinking spiral. "Come unto ME", Jesus said....it is futile to search anywhere else.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." A yoke couples and binds two things together into perfect intimacy and harmony - and right now your life is yoked either to Jesus Christ or to the bondage of sin. "Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1) The light, easy yoke of Jesus Christ is found only when we've drawn so close to Him that it is nothing short of essential for us to absolutely abandon all self efforts and become totally yield to His will. We ask ourselves, "Why have I been unable to find this yoke of His in my life?" His power to release us from the bondage has never vanished, but we rarely give Him the occasion to exhibit it. Are you learning from His meek and lowly heart that you might "enter into that rest"?

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." The yoke of bondage doesn't appear uneasy and harsh at first, but the marks remaining in your soul have always proven the truth. Every time you've turned away from Jesus Christ and slipped on the yoke of bandage you've found yourself entangled yet again. The burdens are truly lifted only at a place called Calvary, where all hope of self-sufficiency must be completely cast off....have you been there?