Today’s New Covenant nugget is from 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.
In this portion of scripture Jesus is ministering to believers who ‘labor’ and are ‘heavy laden’. These believers feel that they have to problem solve, work hard and participate in many religious rituals in order to overcome… as a result they are ‘heavy laden’, or weighed down, discouraged and deeply fatigued in their souls.
Jesus points to a solution that will provide ‘rest for their souls’.
The Amplified Bible says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace]”
The Message Bible says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
In short, ‘if it’s hard, it’s not God!’ I love the Message Bible translation version of this scripture, “Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE.”
Jesus wants to show us how to live a ‘burden free’, or a ‘light burden’ life under the New Covenant of GRACE. When we are living correctly under the New Covenant our assignments, our lives and our ministries should be easy, free, fun and light.
Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me”, in other words, “connect to me in a deeper, more committed way, and let me teach you how to handle this by grace. Let me teach you how to stop trying to force things and live by grace through faith.”
Many times, instead of living according to the unforced rhythms of grace, we try to make things happen and force things… “If I pray harder, work smarter… if I can get more anointing in it… if I, if I, if, I… ‘THEN’, I will have success” – a strategy like that will only produce frustration, fatigue and failure!
Don’t ever try to force things… let Jesus teach you a better way… living by grace and faith in the finished work of Jesus. Dead religion tries to build a bridge where grace and faith parts the waters… dead religion depends on military might, but grace and faith lets God fight and win as with Jehoshaphat and Judah. (2 Chronicles 20)
The yoke of the New Covenant in Christ is all about freely ‘receiving’ what we already have been freely given by grace through faith… the yoke of dead, legalistic religion is all about ‘getting’ what we think we do not have through our own efforts. Dead religion is ‘self-dependent’ and New Covenant living is ‘God-dependent’. The one is easy and the other one is not only hard, it’s impossible!
Most believers have some areas in their lives that they are trying to overcome in their own strength… it may be losing weight, it may be getting out of debt, trying to get fit, trying to quit bad, or sinful habits… trying, trying, trying, but failing, failing, failing, and very frustrated, fatigued and frizzled out!
Let Jesus teach you a better way! Jesus can and wants to lead you through the Holy Spirit and the Word ‘how to’ achieve and have success, His way! He has a way to win every battle, to live debt free, fit, slim, healthy, wealthy and blessed in every arena of life… it all starts with… “Come to Me!” As we place our faith in Jesus instead of our diets, our strategies, our rituals and our self-dependance, He will lead us to success… and it will be the easiest thing that you have ever done! Selah!
Blessings on you, Nick
