Gentle and Lowly

Hello!

I wanted to share with you all my time this morning with the Lord.

Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This verse! This is the very nature and heart of Jesus. He invites us to COME. It‘s funny, Jesus says all who work and are burdened, but is this not all of us? Can you think of a time somone asked you how you were doing and you replied with something other than “good, just busy and I feel like its keeping me from God!” It comes down to the fact that we do not truly know the heart of Jesus. ”And I will give you REST!” Jesus promises rest, and him giving it to us implies that we do not have it. I am so restless! As a kid you learn the Bible verse about buliding your house on the rock and not on the sand. When storms come a firm foundation will not be shaken. My ‘sand’ right now is stress and the idol of business. I want to be someone who walks in a manner worthy of my calling, a daughter of the king who knows the love of the Father. By leaning on stress to get me through the day, I am living on the sand instead of the rock that is Jesus! 

Psalm 23 says, “He makes us lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul.”

We have to be willing to let the good shepherd lead us in resting. Then Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” This implies letting Jesus lead you! The Enduring Word Commentary for this passage says, “When training a new animal, farmers would yoke it with an older, stronger, more experienced animal to guide the new one.” It is not in Jesus’ nature to let us carry the weight. He bore our sin on his shoulders, knowing full well it was a burden to heavy for us to bear! ”For I am GENTLE and LOWLY in heart.” Gentle and Lowly by Dan Ortland says, “In 89 chapters of biblical text—there‘s only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart.” Gentle can be translated to meek or humble. Jesus cannot react in any other way but in love. Lowly means that he is accessible! “The posture most natural to Him is not a pointed finger but open arms“ (Ortland, 2021). 

But that is not all! Jesus continues the sentence. He says and you will find rest for your souls. This rest is not transactional and nothing in the Gospel is! “For my yoke is EASY and my burden is LIGHT.” This is a beautiful companionship, Jesus is right there next to us, bearing the burden that was ours in the first place. If your yoke is hard and your burden is heavy, you are not letting him bear it with you. 

Prayer:

Thank you, Jesus, for who you are. It‘s mind-blowing that you desire to co-pain with us (compassion!). You bore our sin on your shoulders, freely dying for those who did not deserve it. I know I will never fully realize the depth of your love in sending your Son to die in my place! This is amazing grace, this is unfailing love, that you would take my place, that you would bear my cross! Thank you for your heart, that you want to share it with us. I want to be like you Lord!

Thanks for reading!