The Easy Yoke?

Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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” (Matt. 11:28–30).

For Peter and the disciples, doing ministry yoked to Jesus meant tremendously full days and crowds of desperate people, victories, and defeats. Maybe your days look like that, too.

I began looking at the familiar stories of the life of Peter, focusing on what it looked like for him to wear the easy yoke. From walking on water, to being rebuked, to seeing the Lord’s glory, to his predicted denial, to Jesus asking him, “Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” I could see the joys and sorrows Peter experienced. There didn’t seem to be anything easy about it.

But going deeper, I wondered: why does Jesus call his yoke easy? How is finding rest for our souls related to being yoked to Jesus?

As promised, Jesus humbly and gently taught Peter, always extending him grace no matter what he said or did. The transformation Peter experienced was radical, like a caterpillar in its cocoon. Jesus taught Peter to die to himself. He was radically changed as he wore the easy yoke. But was it easy?

I’m sure Peter was stretched to his limit, but through it all, I saw Jesus loving Peter without reservation. Peter didn’t have to earn the Lord’s love. He was safe and secure. He would never be excluded, never left behind. The easy yoke is easy because we do not have to earn our acceptance. We don’t have to strive.

Being yoked to Jesus is easy because Jesus graciously and humbly teaches us and gives us space to learn.

And he’s with us, doing the heavy lifting. We follow where he leads, learn what he’s teaching, embrace his grace when we are overwhelmed by failure or defeat, and live in his love. We don’t have to overexert. We stay in the yoke, and he does the rest.

A life yoked to Jesus doesn’t mean we’ll live on flowery beds of ease—that wasn’t Peter’s experience for sure. In the Lord's grace and love our souls can rest. It is in his grace and love we find the yoke easy, and we find rest for our souls.

If you are feeling “hard pressed on every side,” you are in good company (2 Cor. 4:8). Peter encourages us, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7). The Lord is doing his good work in you.

Peter, the man who sank in the waves (Matt. 14:30) and “went outside and wept bitterly” (Matt. 26:75) encourages us out of the depth of his life experiences: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10–11). If you are feeling exhausted by the challenges of this season, receive Peter's promise. Know that the God of all grace is yoked with you. This season will pass. He will restore you and make you strong. 

I love how Betsy articulates the joys and sorrows of being yoked to Jesus through various seasons. I love how she helps us to see how creating safety for Saani required seeing life from her perspective and not putting her own feelings first. This is what we are all trying to do as we seek to create safe spaces for those we serve.