HELEN SANDERS

2-8-2025

THE YOKE

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The word yoke in the Greek is zugos, which comes from the root word zeugnumi, which means to join by coupling; servitude; the beam of the balance, or a pair of balances. This lets us know that when we join ourselves to Jesus in salvation, that he carries the load, and not us alone. Since He is the stronger of the two pulling the load, we follow his lead.  

We often find ourselves carrying the load ourselves without asking the Lord for help. Sometimes it is pride that keeps us from asking. Sometimes it is fear that we will disappoint the Lord if we ask for help. Regardless of the reason, we then fail in carrying the load. We must let Him help us and yoke up with Him.

When we join or team up with Jesus, we will find rest in our souls, which is the mind. The mind is the devil’s battlefield, and he will try to convince us that we are “weak” if we ask for help from God. The truth is that we are weak, but God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) us when we trust Him to carry the load! 

Don’t yoke yourself up with the world. It will fail you. Don’t yoke up anyone but God, because He is the only one that can help carry your load. Remember, he said his yoke [teaming up with Him] is easy, and his burden is light. Why carry the load yourself when God wants to help you?