Month: September 2014

How the Lord’s Yoke Guides and Comforts

As a woman, I fulfill many roles – daughter, sister, wife, mother, teacher, nurse and the list follows. Each role that I embrace imposes upon me certain dictates. For instance, as a daughter I am to honor my mother. I also glean from her wisdom, and learn from her continued instruction. As a sister, I listen and encourage my sisters. We learn from and share our life experiences with one another. And, finally as a mother, I nurture, teach, doctor “boo boos,” and love my son as no other person can love him. However, the most important role I have is that of servant and child of the Lord. This is a role of submission, obedience, learning and humility. When I asked the Lord Jesus to come and live in me and be Lord of my life, I submitted all of me to Him. This submission placed a yoke upon me, as no other role I have to follow. A yoke, according to the Dictionary.com, is something that couples or binds together; an emblem or symbol of subjection, servitude, or slavery.

My first instinct is to resist this yoke. Much as oxen resist the yoke placed upon them, I have the same urge to shake it off and to rid myself of it. It is heavy, and I often look at it as a burden that I cannot carry. However, as I ease into the yoke and accept it – ever yielding to it – I find comfort and security in it. Lamentations 3:27 says, “It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth.” After reading that verse, I thought it did not apply to me. I am no longer a youth, and could not see how the verse could be applied to me. As I considered it and prayed about it, I then replaced the word “youth” with the word “beginning.” As I looked at it that way, I began to see that the yoke is foundational – it contains me and keeps me from wandering. It was necessary to place it upon me, in order for me to grow and mature. The yoke is becoming lighter and easier to bear, as I recognize that my submitting is needful, and so it has become a comfortable place – one I enjoy.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:29 and 30, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” What a joy it is to take on and submit to His yoke. I am now longing for and desiring it. His teaching is faithful and true – His yoke is easy for me. Submitting to the Lord is uncomfortable at first, because we have to put away the sins that keep us from serving Him faithfully. Think of an uncooked egg – when you crack it open, you can see that the yoke is holding it all together; however; when you break that yoke, it falls apart. When we shake off the yoke He has placed upon us, we fall apart too. I do not enjoy being all mixed up like that egg. When you start to recognize that the yoke is not meant to hurt you, but it is to guide you and keep you secure, it is easier to bear it, and becomes a joyful experience.

I cherish the many roles I fulfill every day and I humbly thank Him for each role He has entrusted to me. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to instruct me and allow me to bear His yoke. I encourage you to not be fearful or reluctant to submit to His yoke for it will guide you faithfully as you serve Him.

My son, Joshua, came to me this morning and asked, “Momma, do you sometimes wonder if God really exists?”  

I knew that question was coming from somewhere deep within his soul, as Joshua has accepted Jesus as Savior…there was no doubt about it!  I understood it was coming from a longing to know Him more, know Him deeper…a need for sweeter communion with His God.  I told him that all of us, from time-to-time, have those questions…those longings…a desire for a deeper understanding…more importantly … GOD.KNOWS.

I said,

“Joshua, if you remove your shoes and walk through the grass, can you not feel each blade as it sneaks up between your toes?  How about when you walk on the beach and the hot sand warms you all the way up to your nose?  Do you remember how the ocean tastes when it breaks against your face?  If you remember these things, sweet boy, you have experienced what David talks about in Psalm 34:8, ‘Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!’  God has demonstrated Himself in all of creation…in each blade of grass, every granule of sand and in the saltiness of the sea.  He has evidenced His great love for you in all of these things, from the great to the minuscule because He knew your heart would wonder from time-to-time.  So, each time you see a bird gliding gracefully across the sky, the breeze on your face or a funny little sand crab making his way across the morning shore…remember your Creator and His amazing reminders to you that HE DOES EXIST and He loves you with so great a love.”

I love Joshua and I especially love his tender-heartedness for God … I do not doubt that God will do great things in Josh.  I am so grateful that when I die and Joshua cannot come to me and ask, “Momma, do you think God really exists?” he can look to the sea or the wind or the grass and see his Creator.  More importantly, he can go to God’s Word and listen to the Father say, “Oh, yes, Joshua…I AM!”