Matthew 11:28-30, John 5:19

If any of this rings a bell with you then stop now and take a few moments and consider how God might be speaking to you through the following passages.

Matthew 11:28-30 and John 5:19

In the first passage we are given the promise that when we are yoked with God our burden will be light. Back in the day a 'yoke' was something you put around the necks of two cattle to bring them together to share a load they had been given to pull. If we are yoked with God, sharing our load with Him and pulling in the same direction, we will still be carrying some kind of load, but it will not be a heavy burden to us.

The key then, is learning to put in practice what the second verse is all about. Only doing what we see the father doing. When I look at the times in my own life when I have taken too much on I have usually found that a proportion of what I was doing was either purely for myself or for other people. Often God will call us to do things for others, but there is a difference between doing something for God and doing something because you want to please people. When you are doing it to please people it will quite quickly become a burden. You will feel driven by it and it will begin to run your life.

When you are doing something for God it is a completely different feeling. It may still be hard work, but you will be inspired, rather than driven. It will be a job shared rather than a burden.

Take some time to think of all the different things you are doing in your life at the moment and ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I trying to pack too much into my life?


• Are there things I have taken on that are really all about pleasing other people?


• Are there things that I began doing in God's strength that I am now trying to do in my own strength?


• Are there things I am doing that God might be calling me to let go of?

Now invite God to speak into each of your answers.

The next step is yours . . . together!

God bless & keep you
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