Be Refreshed

06/03/2023

The last couple of years have been incredibly tiring, haven’t they? They have sucked our energy, and it would be great if we could just take a break and recover. While we can certainly do some things to ease the load, the truth is that we are just not going to find ultimate rest or refreshing by ourselves. Instead, here’s what Jesus says:

“All things have been committed to me by my Father… Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:27-28 (NIV)

Jesus is the One who has absolutely everything that every one of us could ever need, because all things have been given into His hands by God the Father. Is it any wonder, when He sees us tired and burdened down he calls out “Come to me!” And we do this by acknowledging that He has the resources we need – that we can’t do it on our own. And that takes a certain amount of humility on our part, doesn’t it?

The word for “rest” here primarily has to do with refreshing. Jesus is able to refresh us right where we are, with all that is going on around us. Even though our circumstances don’t change, His refreshing enables us to continue – because it comes from the heavenly realm and the One who has overcome the world. And it’s freely available to all who “come.”

Taking up Jesus’ yoke

And what Jesus offers does not stop there. In coming to Him, he then offers us a yoke (of all things!).

“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 11:29-30 (NIV)

In case you didn’t know, a yoke is a piece of wood that is tied over two work animals such as oxen to enable them to pull a plow or a heavy load. So a yoke is a symbol of serving, of work, or even of slavery. Jesus has the audacity to say that in taking this yoke you will find rest!

The word used here for “rest” is different again – it’s not so much a refreshing, but true rest. This is a “rest for your souls,” even within the midst of work and activity. So what is this all about?

Letting go of all other yokes

The thing is that taking up the yoke Jesus offers means that we have to let go of all other yokes we have taken on or tied ourselves to. These are the obligations, people, careers, or other things that we have (even unintentionally) put first in our lives – that we have paid attention to, ahead of following Jesus wholeheartedly. These might even be good things, but they are yokes and heavy loads that weigh us down and cause us to feel over-burdened, particularly during times of stress or difficulty.

Then there are the yokes that have been put on us by others. Things that have happened in our past; negative things that have been spoken over our lives. All these can feel like yokes around our necks.

The great news is that because all things have been given into the hands of Jesus (verse 27), He also has the power and authority to disentangle us from all unwanted yokes. And that’s what He will do – but the choice to “come,” “take” and “learn” is ours.

Come, take and learn

So what does Jesus’ yoke look like? It’s the yoke of His kingdom, which is a whole different way of living and thinking. It’s a way of life that is characterised by gentleness and humility. It actually de-stresses us because we are aligning ourselves with God’s kingdom and with heaven’s resources rather than our own. And that’s where we find rest and refreshing. It is “easy” because it fits us so well – this is what we were made for.

The final thing Jesus says is “learn of me” or “learn from me.” He wants to come alongside us and teach us how to work this out in our daily lives. So we can walk in His kind of rest, even within the midst of our activity.