I DON’T KNOW MUCH about yoke wearing. I’m not a farm girl, nor did I grow up around oxen that were yoked. But I did grow up hearing the Scripture about Jesus assuring us His yoke is easy. I’m guessing you’re also familiar with Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all you 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.”
Even though I’m uneducated when it comes to yoke wearing, when “my yoke” recently had some issues, I could quickly tell. The fit and feel were not right, certainly far from “easy.”
One day I was moaning to the Lord about my yoke. I thought He’d want to know how uncomfortable I felt carrying my load. The yoke seemed to be rubbing me raw in spots. The weight seemed off keel. The days of toil, without rest, felt too long. And the load was just too heavy.
As I cried out to Jesus, I stumbled over something I had written about a year previously. Occasionally, I will type out a prayer to Jesus and write whatever I think His response is. I know this is not “His word” that I would declare to His people as being a solid revelation. It was simply an imagined divine whisper that I heard. Yet those words I rediscovered moved me. They became a balm that ministered to a deep place in my heart.
They said: “Ruth, I am sorry that the yoke feels heavy. Let Me adjust the straps.”
A year after writing this, I allowed the words and imagery to minister to my yoked self. Tears streamed down my face as I gave my response: “Yes! Adjust the straps, Lord. Oh, and look—I am yoked in with You! You are pulling the weight too! We are tied in together, and You have just adjusted things so that the raw place will heal and You will carry the weight of the load. Thank You, Jesus! It does not mean that I will not need to do some work, but rather I need to be more intentional to work together with You. Instead of me trying to pull more than my share (unevenly), I need to feel and focus on that togetherness part—and just rest in You caring enough to adjust the straps.”
The tears came again when I shared this thought with a nurse friend who was feeling overwhelmed in her new job. This is also what I needed to tell a pastor’s wife burned out from pulling a weight that felt unfair to her. And so I can’t keep the impression to myself.
If your yoke feels heavy and uncomfortable, know that Jesus is willing and longing to adjust the straps. While He is adjusting the yoke, I encourage you to turn your head and look directly into the face of the One you are yoked with. There is much strength to be found. It might even move you to tears. Tears that will minister to the deep places in your heart.
