Taking up the yoke - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

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.
Matthew 11:29–30

Taking up the yoke
When the Lord Jesus spoke about the yoke, His listeners understood Him well. They knew about that wooden beam which was used to harness oxen together to plough. The conclusion from this figurative comparison is simple: the person who is under someone else’s yoke does their will.

When the Lord invites us to “take My yoke upon you”, He is impressing two thoughts on our hearts:

1. The Lord Jesus wants us to do His will. Because He has bought us with His precious blood, He has a claim on our lives. So it is a matter of denying ourselves and asking Him, “What shall I do, Lord?” If we are willing to submit to Him, we take His yoke upon us and follow Him.

2. Jesus Christ Himself bore this yoke when He willingly did the will of His God and Father on earth. Thus His words, “take My yoke upon you”, also contain the thought of looking to Him and imitating Him in His submission to the divine will. He is our perfect example.

The yoke of the Lord Jesus is indeed light and easy for us. Why? Because the new life we have possessed since our conversion is eager to do what pleases God. In the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, we can overcome our selfishness and serve the Lord with joy.

Today’s reading: Micah 3:1-12 · Proverbs 28:11-19