Matthew 11:28
Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
V. 29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
v. 30
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus, in verse 28, bids us to come to Him to find rest, and in verse 29 He gives the answer how to do that. I have the choice of free will. If I choose to be yoked to Him, I have to go His way. In the olden days in primitive farming before machinery, the oxen were yoked together at their necks, they had to pull together. Often a young ox would be yoked with a more mature one to learn from him. Verse 29 bids us to take His yoke upon us, to learn His ways, for He is meek and lowly in heart, (humility), and this results in rest for our souls. “The meek shall inherit the earth”. Matt.5:5

How many Christians have declared the Christian life is hard to live? Jesus says otherwise in the above passage declaring His yoke is easy and His burden, light. If I have not found it so, it is I that have got it wrong somewhere, God’s word cannot lie! – so the fault lies with me. If my life declares strife and I am living like a pauper, instead of demonstrating the promised riches of Christ, I need to humble before God and take blame. If I don’t see where I am to blame, I must ask the Lord Jesus to show me. He will. “Learn of me” – v29, Jesus bids us, then we will enter into His rest.

Luke 22:24 At the Last Supper with Jesus the disciples were arguing about position, who would be accounted the greatest amongst themselves. Even after spending all that time with Jesus they had yet to learn meekness and lowliness of heart. Striving and selfish desires only lead to wilderness experiences where there is only stale manna to feast on. All my efforts to sweeten it to make it more palatable fail. Why should I make it my daily portion when God has provided the Bread of Life for me to feast on, the Lord Jesus Christ. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me”.

God’s mercies are NEW every morning – Lamentations3:23 – new, nothing stale in God. We can allow the problems of today to cloud what God has given. He can take us to “beyond” to unclouded skies, days of heaven on earth (Deut. 11:21 KJV), even amidst and inspite of our trials, because fellowship with Him lies in the “beyond” and His very Presence dispels the clouds. I don’t have to wait to get to heaven to experience it – “days of heaven on earth”. “This is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”, John17:3. I can enter into my eternal destiny now. We were promised the power to live that life today. Father God and His Son, Jesus Christ, want me to have that personal intimacy of fellowship with them as my daily portion. It’s my birthright! Will I answer His bidding and come.

“Learn of me”.