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Life can sneak up on us, and before we know it, we are carrying a burden that is far heavier than we are intended to carry. We grab hold of the “supermom” mindset that says I can (and should) be able to carry it all, no matter the weight. In Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV), Jesus said, 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.
The thing about a yoke (that wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and keeps them working together) is that it doesn’t take the burden away completely, but it makes it lighter to carry because the weight is shared. We get weighed down by others’ expectations, our fears and our past mistakes, but when we take on Jesus’ yoke, the weight shifts, and he carries most of it.
We may still be surrounded by the things that weighed us down in the first place. We may still hear the haughty and demeaning voices of the world, but we can shift the weight and understand who we are because of who God is. We’re already loved and loveable. Understanding this changes the way we parent, how we treat ourselves and how we respond to others.
Trading our heavy burden for Jesus’ light one requires some work on our part. It’s not about earning love, because God’s love isn’t based on what we do. Nothing we do can make him love us more or less. But we should put our effort into learning more about Jesus, taking time to monitor the voices we allow to speak into our lives and doing the work to free ourselves from old patterns of thinking or habits that hold us captive. If our goal is perfection and claiming the “supermom” title, then the outcome will always be frustration. We don’t have to be “super” anything because we are God’s beloved children. Children who don’t have to earn or hustle for our worth. Children who just need to shift the weight and find rest.
Let’s stop settling for what simply gets us by and do the work to get to what’s best. Let’s stop trying to carry all the weight alone, because we were never designed to do that. Trying to do things on our own doesn’t make us “super”— it just makes us tired. Take Jesus’ yoke and learn from him; allow his love to change the way you feel and talk about yourself.
Questions:
- What is weighing you down?
- What is your first step toward shifting some of that weight onto Jesus’ shoulders?
Kelli Jordan (kellijordan.blog)