Your Weary Soul
Monday, January 27, 2014 “Turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 30:10
The only way you can come to God is with all your soul. When Jesus
said “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden,” he was talking
to all that’s in you. What does that look like? What does it mean to
turn to God with all your heart and soul?
Are you bound exclusively to Christ?
“Take my yoke upon you…” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
The yoke was a harness that tied two animals together to keep them in
line when they were ploughing a field. Once you were in the yoke you
couldn’t get out of it. When Jesus invites you to take His yoke, He’s
inviting you into a binding relationship.
Some people want to walk with Jesus, but they want the freedom to
depart from him when he takes a difficult path. There is no rest for
your soul in that. Coming to Jesus means that I bind myself to Christ:
“Where you go, I go. Where you lead I follow.”
It is exclusive because you cannot be yoked to many people at the
same time. Take my yoke on you. Bind yourself to me. That means that I
detach myself from other yokes. The problem for some of us is that we
are already yoked:
Christ says “Take my yoke upon you.” We respond “Sorry Lord, I’m
already yoked to pleasure. I am already yoked to popularity. I am yoked
to success. I am already yoked to self.” Christ says “Break up those
yokes and take my yoke upon you.”
The purpose of the yoke is to make sure that you go where He is
going. The yoke makes it possible for you to play your part in his
purpose. It delivers you from doing your own thing, and missing the
purpose for which God brought you into the world.
There will be times when you pull against the yoke and it hurts, but
on the last there will be no greater blessing than to go where he is
going. When you see Christ on the last day you will be so glad all that
you are yoked to him.
“Take my yoke upon you…” That is how you will come to know God, and that is where you will find rest for your soul. .
Is Christ your teacher?
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
You have to be ready to take the position of a student in the
classroom. Some of us find that difficult. We want to sit on the board
of examiners. We come to God with our questions, as if He needed to pass
our tests.
“What’s your answer to this? How can you explain that?” God will
never answer you if you come to Him like that. He does not need to sit
for your test. Jesus says “You must resign from the board of examiners,
and you must enroll as a student in my class. Take my yoke upon you and
learn of me.”
Are you ready to learn from Him? Will you let Him be your teacher?
Will you allow Him to lead you into all truth through His Word? Christ
will not answer every question, but when you are ready to learn from
Him, He will give rest to your soul.
You can receive our daily devotional booklet by mail by visiting UnlockingtheBible.org/LifeKEYS and subscribing to the LifeKEYS Daily Bible Devotional Booklet.
You can also follow Colin Smith and Unlocking the Bible on Facebook and Twitter.
This LifeKey is based on the message “Finding Rest and Restoration,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, delivered February 10, 2002, from the series “Battles From the Boardroom of the Soul.” Colin
currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free
Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the
Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus
Christ.
The only way you can come to God is with all your soul. When Jesus
said “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden,” he was talking
to all that’s in you. What does that look like? What does it mean to
turn to God with all your heart and soul?
Are you bound exclusively to Christ?
“Take my yoke upon you…” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
The yoke was a harness that tied two animals together to keep them in
line when they were ploughing a field. Once you were in the yoke you
couldn’t get out of it. When Jesus invites you to take His yoke, He’s
inviting you into a binding relationship.
Some people want to walk with Jesus, but they want the freedom to
depart from him when he takes a difficult path. There is no rest for
your soul in that. Coming to Jesus means that I bind myself to Christ:
“Where you go, I go. Where you lead I follow.”
It is exclusive because you cannot be yoked to many people at the
same time. Take my yoke on you. Bind yourself to me. That means that I
detach myself from other yokes. The problem for some of us is that we
are already yoked:
Christ says “Take my yoke upon you.” We respond “Sorry Lord, I’m
already yoked to pleasure. I am already yoked to popularity. I am yoked
to success. I am already yoked to self.” Christ says “Break up those
yokes and take my yoke upon you.”
The purpose of the yoke is to make sure that you go where He is
going. The yoke makes it possible for you to play your part in his
purpose. It delivers you from doing your own thing, and missing the
purpose for which God brought you into the world.
There will be times when you pull against the yoke and it hurts, but
on the last there will be no greater blessing than to go where he is
going. When you see Christ on the last day you will be so glad all that
you are yoked to him.
“Take my yoke upon you…” That is how you will come to know God, and that is where you will find rest for your soul. .
Is Christ your teacher?
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
You have to be ready to take the position of a student in the
classroom. Some of us find that difficult. We want to sit on the board
of examiners. We come to God with our questions, as if He needed to pass
our tests.
“What’s your answer to this? How can you explain that?” God will
never answer you if you come to Him like that. He does not need to sit
for your test. Jesus says “You must resign from the board of examiners,
and you must enroll as a student in my class. Take my yoke upon you and
learn of me.”
Are you ready to learn from Him? Will you let Him be your teacher?
Will you allow Him to lead you into all truth through His Word? Christ
will not answer every question, but when you are ready to learn from
Him, He will give rest to your soul.
You can receive our daily devotional booklet by mail by visiting UnlockingtheBible.org/LifeKEYS and subscribing to the LifeKEYS Daily Bible Devotional Booklet.
You can also follow Colin Smith and Unlocking the Bible on Facebook and Twitter.
This LifeKey is based on the message “Finding Rest and Restoration,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, delivered February 10, 2002, from the series “Battles From the Boardroom of the Soul.” Colin
currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free
Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the
Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus
Christ.
About Colin Smith
Colin Smith is Senior Pastor of The Orchard
in northwest suburban Chicago. Before coming to the United States in
1996, Colin served as Senior Pastor of the Enfield Evangelical Free
Church in London for 16 years. He is heard daily on the radio broadcast
Unlocking the Bible, speaks regularly at preaching conferences, and is
the author of more than two dozen books and booklets. Follow Pastor
Colin on Twitter @PastorColinS, and Unlocking the Bible
@UnlckngtheBible.
in northwest suburban Chicago. Before coming to the United States in
1996, Colin served as Senior Pastor of the Enfield Evangelical Free
Church in London for 16 years. He is heard daily on the radio broadcast
Unlocking the Bible, speaks regularly at preaching conferences, and is
the author of more than two dozen books and booklets. Follow Pastor
Colin on Twitter @PastorColinS, and Unlocking the Bible
@UnlckngtheBible.
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