Easy & Light

  

I was thinking about this passage today during my time alone with God.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

A yoke is still a yoke. A yoke is used for something. It has purpose. It's for accomplishing an end. Jesus never said it would for real be easy. It is necessary. It's work. Doing stuff takes stuff. The yoke was made for doing stuff. 

We read Matt 11:30 and think that means it should be a walk in the park but then we forget that all of his disciples were martyred. Even John had multiple attempts made on his life. The kind of easy Jesus was speaking of was altogether different than the connotation of the word we drag up in our comfortable 21st century minds.

Paul talked about being a slave to Christ. It's hard sometimes. And ministry life can be really hard at times—but it beats the hell (literally) out of the alternative.

To live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) 

Paul said that too. 

A burden is still a burden. There's a big difference in the burden that Jesus brings and the one sin brings. Jesus brings a burden of peace, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love, understanding, consideration, and justice—all wrapped in grace. Sin brings a burden of brokenness, wretchedness, insecurity, deception, blindness, stubbornness, and fear—all wrapped in death.

The burden Jesus brings is a burden. But it's light.

It is easy to carry in respect to the death that is the alternative. The yoke is light but it is a yoke. It is quite simply a great relief to your soul in regards to the death that is available should you choose to shackle yourself to a yoke of your own making.

Jesus is better. Believe it. 

Waiting

Parenthood comes with lots of "waiting" time. This isn't something anyone warns you about. Not saying there's a lot of calm time just waiting.  Waiting at practice, waiting for potty time, waiting on food to cook or cool (isn't that funny that we have to do both).  Waiting at the doc's, waiting for a phone call, waiting...waiting... Waiting.

Maybe that's why pregnancy comes with so much waiting.  Waiting on a positive test result.  Waiting to tell everyone until you're ready. Waiting for nausea to subside. Waiting to find out what you're having.  Waiting at the docs.  Waiting on test results. Waiting on your water to break.  Waiting on contractions.  Waiting to push.  Waiting on birth.

Having had my first child after being induced at almost 42 weeks I did a lot of waiting.  Now here I am waiting again.  God designed pregnancy to be a certain length of time for different creatures.  Why does ours have to be so long?  Why do we have to wait? And why is it so hard?

Waiting can do one of two things to you.  It can exhaust you or revive you.  We have to LEARN to be good "waiters."

Isaiah 40:31 speaks of the good kind of waiting.

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

But we often see people who react quite differently to the waiting.  Who impatiently demand change or anxiously blame the waiting on something.  What is different?  Okay let's be honest we all are these "bad waiters" sometimes.

So what can we do?  Shift our focus and be content.  Paul talked about learning to be content in all circumstances.  Not accepting of status quo but so rooted in Christ and so trusting of His plan that you can accept what comes your way.  You can search the scripture but Jesus didn't follow a "traditional life schedule," write out a to do list, or whine about the demands of the job.  No he consistently fed those around him and then turned around and spent time with His Father.

So let us focus on serving while we wait. Let us remember the things we allow our minds to dwell on have power in our life.  As Paul wrote:

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (‭Philippians ‭4‬:‭8-9‬ MSG)

Harmony and peace while waiting.