For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (KJV) Matthew 11:30
Yes, the work that I ask you to accept is easy. The burden I give you to carry is not heavy. (EVD) Matthew 11:30
If this is true, then why do we walk around burdened by our very lives. If His yoke is easy and His burden is light where does the weight come from?
I submit to you that it is of our own making. We take upon ourselves responsibilities and ministries that God does not intend for us to have. Some are actual work, some are burdens of the heart and mind that none can see.
We measure ourselves by our visible accomplishments, the number of ministries we are involved in, the number of chapters we read a day, the number of people we minister to, the number of tracts we pass out, the number of hours spent in prayer. As a result we succumb to the temptation of involving ourselves in ministries that God does not intend for us to carry out. The church is full of opportunities - choir, nursery, Sunday school teacher, deacon, youth work. But not all of these ministries are meant for everyone. The motivation to be a part of a ministry must come from God, never motivated by the need to be active for God. If we find a ministry a burden, heavy to bear, with no joy in serving, then it is not given by God. It has been taken on by the flesh as a measure of the spiritual.
Often we are weighted by the guilt of unaccomplished goals - reading through the Bible in a year, praying for an hour each morning, sharing the gospel with at least one person a week. Setting goals is a good thing, but where does the motivation to set a particular goal come from, from God or from a desire to be measured by man's standards as a "good" Christian? God given responsibilities are light and easy, He has told us so.
When God gives the cross to bear, God gives the grace to bear it. If we hear ourselves saying, "I can't do it all." Then perhaps we have taken on burdens that are not ours to bear and thus we are finding the yoke heavy and difficult.
How often do we take on burdens in our minds and hearts that are not ours? The world is full of sin and sorrow, people are suffering all around. Wicked people appear to have everything and God's people nothing. In an attempt to reconcile this, we take on the world, condemning in vehement tones the wrong doing of those who live in sin. We stand upon our soapboxes of righteous indignation and point the finger at the deeds of the wicked or those we consider to be wayward brothers and sisters. Our faces sour, our tone of voice takes on an edge of bitterness, our conversation becomes full of critical words and our minds are full of self-rightous thoughts. The weight of the world becomes our burden and we are crushed by its immensity.
It is not our charge to change the world. We are instructed to preach the gospel, not save the souls. We cannot and must not presume to think that something we say or do will change a heart. We must simply be faithful in giving the gospel in the way that God allows. We cannot run ahead of God and say "I must to do this or that because more people will be saved if I do." We cannot dictate to God how it must be done. We must spend time on our knees saying "What would you have me to do?" And then follow humbly as He leads. And as we follow each next right thing will be easy and light because He bears the burden with us. It is His charge to change the hearts of men.
This does not mean that we will never do what is difficult for us. But as we walk in the traces beside the Son of God, the weight of the yoke rests on His shoulders because our shoulders are narrower and smaller, our backs weak. He must pull the bulk of the load because He is strong and we are weak.
It is not our responsibility to change people either. We weight ourselves down with the burden of their imperfections. We take upon ourselves the righteous judgement of our fellow believers. And as we look down on their failings we boost ourselves up in pride, never meaning to, but just the same puffing ourselves up with each self-righteous condemnation of their weakness. This is a heavy burden and difficult to bear.
As I ponder the truth of Matthew 11:30, I am more and more convinced that I have often lost the joy of my salvation because I have failed to believe that it is perfectly acceptable to decline a service opportunity if God has not led me to that ministry. I have often lost the joy of my salvation because I have stood in the place of the righteous judge and instead of interceeding on behalf of my fellow believers, I have condemned then by my actions or by my words. I have often lost the joy of my salvation because I do not focus daily on the sovereignty of God who rules and reigns over everything and does not need my help, but chooses to use me as He sees fit. And in that choosing He determines what my load must be and gives me only what He will help me bear.
I must not run ahead of God pulling against the weight of the load with my scrawny strength, bellowing as I strain to drag it from day to day. Beside me stands all strength and power and with one step, one press of almighty wisdom, the load moves forward easily. I must only walk beside Him bearing only as much as He determines I must bear.
How much joy we miss trying to fix what is not ours to fix, trying to right wrongs that are not ours to right, trying to bring to pass what only God can in His time and in His way.