“Come, unto 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.”- Matthew 11:28-30
John Ortberg begins Chapter 11 (“The Soul Needs Rest”) of Soul Keeping by emphasizing that God never came to people like Abraham, Moses, or Elijah to give them an easy job. Pastor Ortberg states that God always is “intrusive, demanding, and exhausting.” We should not only expect that the world will be hard, but also that our assignments will be hard.
John notes that the Bible does us the word easy once, in reference to our soul. He explains:
“Easy is a soul word, not a circumstance word; not an assignment word. Aim at having easy circumstances, and life will be hard all around. Aim at having an easy soul, and your capacity for tackling hard assignments will actually grow. The soul was not made for an easy life. The soul was made for an easy yoke.”
All of us face challenges, pain, and demands in life. As we reflect on how Jesus faced the enormous stresses in HIs life, we see that Jesus live in a way that God’s grace constantly was flowing into Him and then flowing out of Him.
Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, have you leaned toward desiring an easy like or an easy yoke? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The Cycle of Grace”
