Run to Jesus
Matthew 11:28–30
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
“The struggle is real,” “life be life’n,” and “it’s hard out here” are three modern-day phrases that signify the burdens and stress we each carry on a daily basis. We all have moments when stress becomes overwhelming, or our world comes crashing down.
Many times, when people are weary or carrying heavy burdens, they’ll turn to one or more of the following coping mechanisms in search of relief:
Alcohol
“Comfort” food
Sleep
Entertainment/social media
People
Exercise
Insert your go-to here
I’m not here to judge anyone. I admit that it’s easy for me to run to many of these coping mechanisms when I’m going through stuff. And many of these things aren’t even bad. Exercise is a great way to relieve stress. Venting to close friends or loved ones can often provide a much-needed sounding board. Sleep allows the body to recuperate.
But none of these options are lasting. They’re temporary at best.
The obvious—but often most difficult—decision to make when we’re weighed down by burdens is to run to Jesus. Our focus Scripture today tells us to go to Jesus when we’re weary, and He will give us rest.
Is the rest Jesus is referring to physical rest? It could be. But I believe He is also referring to mental, emotional, and spiritual rest as well. Jesus did not say, “Come to me and I’ll get rid of all your problems.” In fact, He said in John 16:33:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
All that we experience in this world—both good and bad—are temporary. But we can remain at peace because we know that Jesus has overcome the world and, one day, all evil will be done away with, and we will see our Lord face to face.
We also know, as we’ve discussed before, that:
“All things (both good and bad) work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
— Romans 8:28
We know that we will never be abandoned or forsaken by God (Deuteronomy 31:6, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5).
We know that there is no place where we can hide from God (Psalm 139:7–12).
Psalm 23 should be a go-to Scripture when we’re facing tough times.
And we know that:
“If God be for us, who can stand against us?”
— Romans 8:31
These and countless other Scriptures are what allow us to mentally, emotionally and spiritually rest while going through life’s challenges.
Our focus Scripture goes on to say:
“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Let’s Unpack This Further
When Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you,” He’s not talking about the yolk of an egg—that would be weird. The yoke He’s referring to is the wooden apparatus that keeps two oxen together, allowing them to walk in step with each other as they plow a field.
When two oxen are yoked, the burden of plowing becomes much easier. Being yoked with Jesus will definitely make carrying our burdens much easier than dealing with them on our own.
He also says, “Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart…” Learning to come to Jesus when we’re overwhelmed takes practice and effort. What makes it so easy for me to turn to food, sleep, entertainment, and mindless scrolling when I’m stressed is that it takes little to no mental or physical effort—it’s easy.
But the more we practice something, the easier it becomes. So, instead of running to coping mechanisms that provide little to no lasting benefit, we must make running to Jesus in times of stress our lifestyle.
I doubt modern-day farmers (in the U.S., at least) still use oxen to plow their fields, but what farmers used to do—and what some may still do—is yoke a strong ox with a young or weaker ox. The stronger ox would act as a guide or trainer to the younger ox so that it could learn how to do what is expected of it.
So, when Jesus says, “Let me teach you,” He could, in essence, be referring to the stronger ox (Him) teaching the younger/weaker ox (us) how to model His ways. And if we remain yoked with Him, we’d walk directly in step with Him—not straying to the left or right, not falling behind or getting ahead of His pace.
And unlike me—and many of you—who can be irritable and arrogant teachers sometimes, who can make life difficult for others and push them away, Jesus reminds us that He is humble and gentle at heart. So, we don’t have to worry about being yelled at or spoken to in a condescending way if we stumble and get off track. He’ll be there to gently welcome us back and be yoked with us again.
We probably won’t ever feel like we’re physically yoked with Christ. However, we’re reminded in John 15:5–7 to abide (or dwell) in Christ and that His words must abide in us. This is what it practically looks like to take His yoke upon us and to learn from Him.
His Yoke Is Easy
Our focus Scripture ends with verse 30, which reads:
“For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
When we allow ourselves to focus on life’s challenges, those challenges seem unbearable, never-ending, immovable. But we are told to cast all our cares on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).
We’re also told that God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3). And here in our focus Scripture, we’re reminded that Jesus’ yoke is easy to bear and the burden He gives is light.
We can trust Jesus.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
— Hebrews 4:15
He knows firsthand how the challenges of this world can weigh heavily on our shoulders and is always available to walk through our challenges with us.
So, I encourage all of us, whenever we are weary and carrying heavy burdens—instead of running to the closest bar, gym, app, kitchen, or person—run to Jesus and trust that He will offer rest for our souls like He said He will.